Why Chelsea v Astana has been given a bizarre kick-off time in Conference League

The country is further east than Azerbaijan's capital Baku, which was the site of the 4-1 Europa League final win over Arsenal in 2019.

That encounter was staged at an accessible 8pm, with the UK only three hours behind the local time inside the Olympic Stadium.

However, five years later, Chelsea fans who have not braved the 3000-mile trip to Kazakhstan are not as lucky.

Chelsea vs Astana: Kick-off time

This Conference League tie will take place on Thursday, December 12.

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Kick-off at the Almaty Ortalyk Stadium is scheduled to get underway at 20:30 local time - which is 15:30 in the UK.

Astana is 5 hours ahead of London, and inclement weather conditions in Kazakhstan have made it impossible to hold any later.

The Kazakh Premier League is held from spring to late autumn and wrapped up in November due to the low climate in the winter.

As it stands, temperatures are forecast to reach as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius in Astana in the late evening through to early Friday morning.

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UEFA offer no specific guidance on extreme cold, but all of Astana's home games in the Conference League last season were at 3:30pm.

The one exception to their three home European matches this term came in their opening fixture - a 1-0 win over Serbian Backa Topola in October - but even that was also held in the earlier 5:45pm slot.

UEFA have staged a European match involving a British side in a 3:30pm UK kick-off before, with Celtic the unfortunate recipient.

The Scottish side secured a 2-0 win over Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in 2021, two days ahead of the usual Europa League Thursday night schedule, and far earlier in the day.

The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow meant both Celtic and Rangers had to play matchday three games at home - but the two sides can't do so on the same night to complicate matters further.

The unique 3:30pm kick-off time was created after Celtic's game was moved to Tuesday so that the game didn't overlap with the scheduled Champions League fixtures at 5:45pm and 8pm.

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Not that that's a problem for Chelsea, who are the second earliest fixture in matchday five in the Conference League on Thursday.

talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage from Kazakhstan, with commentary from Ian Danter and former Newcastle midfielder Darren Ambrose.

talkSPORT.com will also have updates in our dedicated live Europea Conference League blog.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.