Group F – Kick-off 19:45 (BST)
Rubin Kazan coach Kurban Berdyev expects a game “played at full throttle” as the Russian champions meet Dynamo Kyiv with both still in the hunt for a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Rubin will progress should they beat Dynamo and Barcelona lose at home to Group F leaders Internazionale. Although Dynamo are at the bottom of the group, they are only two points off the summit.
“It’s very important that we won the Russian title on Saturday which means the players don’t have to think about the final domestic match of the season and can concentrate fully on this game,” said Berdyev. “The players have recovered and are ready.
“The most important thing on Tuesday is the result, not how we play, though I presume the match will be played at full throttle with both teams going for it.
“I’ve watched a lot of Dynamo matches and they are strong and deserve to be in the Champions League. They have changed a bit since our first meeting and play at a higher tempo now.”
Dynamo coach Valeri Gazzaev lamented the workload his players had endured in their unsuccessful two-legged World Cup play-off encounter with Greece.
“I congratulate Rubin for their deserved triumph in the Premier-Liga,” he said. “As for us, we have 15 international players so the schedule for most of the team is very tough. We have a minimum of eight matches per month, but if we want to succeed in Europe we have to live with that.
“We have a recovery plan and we stick to it after every match, just as we did after the win over Shakhtar. Unfortunately, Olexandr Aliyev turned his ankle [on international duty for Ukraine] and has stayed in Kyiv, so he will not play. Our players are in a better mood now than they were after the home tie against Inter and following Ukraine’s matches against Greece.”
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