Group B – Kick-off 19:45 (BST)
CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutski hopes his side can beat Wolfsburg to keep alive their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout phase.
CSKA trail Wolfsburg by three points in Group B, but a 3-3 draw with Manchester United last time out has raised expectations that they could reach the knockout stages.
“It won’t be easy to replace [the suspended] Deividas Semberas,” said Slutski. “He has started every game since I took over and has looked very solid.
“Wolfsburg are not a typical German team. They have good movement up front and a clear leaning towards attacking football, not the stereotypical disciplined German setup, with an accent on defence. It’s little wonder they concentrate on attack with players like Edin Dzeko, Grafite, Obafemi Martins and Zvjezdan Misimovic.
“Victories like that against Spartak Moscow at the weekend create a positive atmosphere and make it easier for players to ignore their tiredness. It wasn’t going well against Spartak, but we found the power to change the course of the game and even up the tempo. Was it our high levels of fitness or high morale? Unfortunately nothing can tell us, but I hope to see the same again.”
A draw would be enough for Wolfsburg, but coach Armin Veh insists he will not be limiting his side’s attacking style in Moscow.
“We have to make changes and I won’t make a big secret of our starting lineup,” he said. “I will field Makoto Hasebe and Obafemi Martins will replace Grafite.
“We underestimated Nürnberg a bit in our last league game, but that won’t happen this time. This game will be different to the one in Wolfsburg, as it is Matchday 5 and CSKA are in a different position to us. They must win and they will probably presume we’ll be more defensive this time, but we’re not going to be because our main strength is up front. This is our philosophy, and the spectators should expect goals.
“CSKA played well in Manchester, and the first game in Moscow against United was also even. The name of Leonid Slutski is not very well known in Germany, but not everything in football is resolved by names. Players on the pitch decide things.”
Group A – Kick-off 19:45 (BST)
