CSKA Moscow vs AS Monaco will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides. Both sides have, however, experience when it comes to playing against teams from the opposing country.
Yet CSKA Moscow lost both of their last home fixtures against teams from the French Ligue 1. In 2011 they were beaten 2-0 by LOSC Lille, and in 2005 Olympique de Marseille handed them a defeat in the group stage of the UEFA Cup.
In fact the last CSKA Moscow victory against French opposition came in the 2004-05 season when they beat AJ Auxerre 4-0 at home in the quarterfinal of the UEFA Cup. That season CSKA Moscow would win the UEFA Cup, their first and only international title in a UEFA competition. Online sportsbooks currently have this one as a close matchup with the biggest sites listing CSKA Moscow as the favourite to win at +165 vs +175 for Monaco.
AS Monaco are owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who has owned the club since December 2011, and through his investments has guided the club from the bottom of Ligue 2 to a club that has consistently performed in the UEFA Champions League in recent years.
Despite their Russian ownership AS Monaco has never won a match on Russian soil, as they managed two draws and two defeats when facing teams from the Russian Football Premier League.
In Ligue 1 Monaco had a strong start to the season and looks like a title challenger. In the Champions League Monaco travelled to England to face Tottenham Hotspurs at Wembley, and walked away with an unlikely 2-1 victory after a strong performance.
On matchday two, AS Monaco managed a last minute draw against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, which has catapulted Monaco on top of Group E (read CSKA Moscow’s full Champions League preview here).
CSKA Moscow meanwhile managed to overcome a 2-0 deficit on matchday one against Bayer Leverkusen to walk away with a 2-2 draw. But on matchday two Tottenham visited the new Arena CSKA and what was a supposed to be a festival to celebrate the opening of CSKA’s new arena ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat to the English Premier League club.
Indeed CSKA have only won one of their last nine home matches. In all fairness, however, CSKA was forced into exile to the Moscow suburb Khimki, while awaiting the construction of their new arena. Despite being a football-specific stadium, Arena Khimki was always a bleak place to play football.
CSKA Moscow will be without Finnish playmaker Roman Eremenko, who has been suspended for 30 days after consuming snus—a form of chewing tobacco. Snus is thought to act as a stimulant, but is not listed on the doping list. UEFA will investigate the case further, but for now Eremenko will be sidelined which will be a major blow for CSKA Moscow.
The game at Arena CSKA on Tuesday October 18 should provide a much more interesting Champions League spectacle than previous encounters involving CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. CSKA Moscow will be looking to improve their home record, and AS Monaco will be seeking their first victory on Russia soil. At the same time recent records indicate a draw between the two clubs.
CSKA Moscow:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Akinfeev – Schennikov, V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, Mário Fernandes – Wernbloom, Natcho – Golovin, Dzagoev, Tosić – Traoré
Manager: Leonid Slutsky
AS Monaco:
Formation: 4-4-2
Subasić – Sidibé, Glik, Jemerson, Touré – Lemar, Fabinho, Moutinho, Silva – Germain, Carrillo
Manager: Leonardo Jardim
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