Aston Villa head to Russia on Thursday knowing they have to score to keep their European dreams alive.
A 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their Uefa Cup contest means Martin O'Neill's men must adopt a positive attitude in the return fixture if they are to reach the last 16.
Vagner Love's away goal at Villa Park has put a serious dent in those aspirations, but the Premier League side created enough opportunities on home soil to suggest they are capable of troubling their Russian opponents.
However, Martin O'Neill has made it clear that UEFA Champions League qualification remains his priority this season and he will field a shadow side as a result.
That could work against the Villans, with the club already slipping to two defeats during the group stages when fielding a weakened team.
CSKA will be in no mood to go easy on O'Neill's second string either, with Zico's side looking to stretch their unbeaten run in Europe to eight games.
The winners of this tie will go on to play either Shakhtar Donetsk or Tottenham in the next round.
Key men
CSKA welcome two key performers back into their squad ahead of the crunch clash.
Anton Grigoriey and Deividas Semberas are both in contention again after serving one-match bans.
Russia international Yuri Zhirkov is only one booking away from a suspension of his own so he must tread carefully on Thursday.
For Villa, Steve Sidwell returns from a ban while Craig Gardner walks the disciplinary tightrope.
O'Neill has decided to leave Gareth Barry, Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, James Milner, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlos Cuellar and Stiliyan Petrov back in England as he looks to keep his star men fresh.
Six inexperienced youngsters, Elliott Parish, Eric Lichaj, Ciaran Clark, Shane Lowry, Barry Bannan and Mark Albrighton, whose average age is 19 and have just one first-team appearance between them, have been included in the travelling squad.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar