Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Champions League Preview

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Champions League Preview

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Wednesday 19:45 GMT/20:45 CET at Wembley Stadium in London.

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow will take place at Wembley Stadium - Image by Jbmg40 CC-BY-SA-3.0

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow will take place at Wembley Stadium – Image by Jbmg40 CC-BY-SA-3.0

Third place will be on offer for Totenham Hotspur and CSKA Moscow when the two sides meet on matchday 6 at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. But while CSKA Moscow would be eager to take third place, and continue their campaign in the Europa League, rumour has it that Mauricio Pochettino could field a weakened side for the match.

It is understood that Pochettino sees little value in the Europa League and, already last season, chose to focus on the English Premier League rather than Europe’s second tier competition. This, in itself, would be the major story line going into the match on Wednesday, were it not for the possibility that this is Leonid Slutsky’s last match as the head coach of CSKA Moscow.

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Rumour has it that Slutsky has booked a table in a notable London restaurant to bid his players farewell after the match against Tottenham. It is understood that the coach is tired and would like to step down. CSKA have had a lacklustre season both in the Russian Football Premier League, and in the Champions League as well and, therefore, it could be the right time for a new coach to step in to rebuild the team from within (more on this here).

CSKA Moscow are likely to use the winter to retool the squad somewhat, especially as they lost midfield motor, Roman Eremenko, to a two year doping ban. Hence, the €1.5 million received for a victory against Tottenham, and the prospect of earning additional funds in the Europa League, could become key for a club eager to re-invent itself.

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Player to look out for:

The talent of Fedor Chalov has been pointed out both on the Futbolgrad Podcast, and in our scout report. Chalov could be the impetus of change at CSKA Moscow as the club is looking to rebuild from within over the winter break in order to challenge in the Russian Football Premier League, and potentially the Europa League. A quick and agile striker, Chalov scored five goals in four UEFA Youth League matches this season. In fact, he often linked up with Aleksandr Golovin, who is another interesting player to watch out for, as the 20-year-old looks like a star in the making, both for his club and also for his country.

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Match Stats

  • Tottenham Hotspur have failed to pick up a point in the Champions League in their adopted home at Wembley Stadium.
  • In three European home games against Russian visitors, Spurs have won two games, and drawn one.
  • CSKA Moscow have lost nine of their last 11 away games in the group stage of the Champions League.
  • CSKA’s only victory came in an away match on matchday 4 of the 2014-15 Champions League season.
  • The Army Men have lost three of their last seven visits to England, drawing three. Their overall record against English Premier League sides is W3 D5 L8.

Futbolgrad’s Prediction: Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow 1-3

Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow – Possible Lineups

Tottenham Hotspur

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Lloris – Wimmer, Vertonghen, Dier, Walker – Wanyama – Son, Alli, Dembélé, Eriksen – Kane

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

CSKA Moscow

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Akinfeev – Shchennikov, A. Berezutski, V. Berezutski, Mário Fernandes – Natcho, Wernbloom – Milanov, Golovin, Tosić – Chalov

Manager: Leonid Slutsky

By Manuel Veth –

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