CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg meet in the NHL jerseys Russian capital on Wednesday to decide who joins Manchester United in the last 16 and I take the Bundesliga side’s quality to tell.
CSKA, three points adrift of their German opponents in Group B, must win to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive but time and again we see teams shorter than they deserve to be based on their need to emerge victorious and this looks another good example of the desperate being underpriced.
Being able to field against the hosts at around the 2.20 mark is presumably based on their excellent showing at Old Trafford last time out, when holding the 2009 runners-up to a 3-3 draw, but the Premier League champions weren’t at the races that night and the Russian club’s defending was woeful when under the cosh late on.
The hosts enter Wednesday’s fixture with just one domestic game left to play, they were 3-2 winners at rivals Spatak last time out, but lie miles off the pace of newly crowned champions Rubin Kazan and 10 defeats already this season tells its own story.
CSKA were comprehensively outplayed on opening night when thrashed 3-1 in Germany and a similar score line once again wouldn’t surprise.
The hero for Wolfsburg back in September was Brazilian forward Grafite but he misses out through suspension for the return clash. Coach Armin Veh has a number of attacking options however and former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins is tipped to get the nod.
Martins still has plenty to offer, even at the highest level, and the Nigerian should have no trouble teaming up with the Bosnian pairing of Edin Dzeko and Zvjezdan Misimovic to form an enviable front three.
Wolfsburg were unbeaten in seven matches before succumbing to a last minute defeat on home soil to Nurnberg on the weekend but a point will be enough for them to qualify and I expect them to avoid consecutive losses with relative comfort. CSKA must cope without the influential Deividas Semberas, also suspended, and coach Leonid Slutski has his work cut out if he is to conjure up a win.
CSKA were extremely limited in their efforts going forward in front of their own fans when Manchester United came to town and while Wolfsburg will not be treated with the same respect it is asking an awful lot of the in-form Tomas Necid to do it all on his own. He’s a talent, no doubt, but CSKA are readily opposed at the prices and an away win is far from out of the question.
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