After the heroic match against Real Madrid, CSKA have fallen into somewhat of a crisis. The Muscovites have won just one match out of their last six, against relegation-threatened Anzhi Makhachkala.
AS Roma crushed CSKA at the Stadio Olimpico on the third European matchday 3-0. On Saturday, the Army Men dominated against Dinamo Moscow but dropped two points after a boring goalless draw.
The Red-Blues are awaiting Luzhniki’s support. Though it is almost impossible to repeat the 72,000 attendance against Real, ticket sales are going well. Undoubtedly 50-60,000 people will attend the match.
Tactical Analysis
This season, CSKA manager Viktor Goncharenko has regularly switched between a three-centre-back formation (5-2-2-1 or 5-2-1-2) and two centre-backs (4-2-3-1). Against a strong opponent such as Roma, he will definitely choose a five defender tactic.
In Goncharenko’s system, Ilzat Akhmetov plays a key role. He doesn’t just win the ball, but he also controls the pace of the game and plays incisive balls forward to the attacking zone. Attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic will drift wide and he is the main attacking weapon of CSKA. He can score himself, and has good line-up play with the forward Chalov. The CSKA wing-backs are also efficient players and should create opportunities.
Goncharenko has a lack of defensive midfielders to play together with Akhmetov. The first defensive midfielder Bistrovic is injured, Khosonov just returned after injury. Bijol also had an injury recently, while Dzagoev is out.
Team News
Viktor Goncharenko recieved a boost that Abel Hernandez and Georgy Shchennikov recovered for the Dinamo match after respective injuries. However against Dinamo, Abel played 40 minutes and finished the match with a new injury. It looks like he received relapse of the previous injury and will miss the match against Roma. Shchennikov played 24 minutes and if he is ready to play 90 minutes, the fast and tough wing-back would reinforce the CSKA defense.
Though Konstantin Kuchaev went to Rome, next week he will train, but will not play. Dzagoev looks like he is not ready to play a full match in his current state, having missed training midweek and will likely miss the game enitrely. Jaka Bijol played half an hour in an unsuccessful match against Krasnodar and sat on the bench against Dinamo.
Key Players
Igor Akinfeev – Though Pomazun made one of the best saves of the third matchday, the CSKA captain will play again after a stupid one-match ban. Surely he will do his best to vindicate himself after the missing last match, where the CSKA defence looked uncertain due to the team leader absence.
Nikola Vlasic – The 20-year-old Croat is the best player not just of CSKA, but one of the best in the whole RPL, according to InStat. CSKA fans voted him as player of the month for October as well as September. After scoring against Real, he netted again scored to Krasnodar, it was his first non-winning goal. Vlasic’s long shots will be the main threat for the Romans.
Fedor Chalov – The 20-year-old Russian is the top scorer in the RPL and second best forward according to InStat. His goal in Plzen turned the match on its head and allowed CSKA into the game. The Army men need his work rate to decrease pressure on the CSKA defence. Though the CSKA player of the month was Vlasic, the RPL player of the month was Chalov.
Predicted Line-Up
5-2-2-1: Akinfeev – Mario Fernandes, Becao, Chernov, Magnusson, Schennikov – Bijol, Akhmetov – Vlasic, Oblyakov – Chalov
Prediction
CSKA is the obvious underdog against AS Roma. The side is in crisis. Roma have played in Russia four times and have not lost (3W, 1D). Yet we remember their last match in Russia, when Vasily Berezutsky equalised in the 93rd minute at a frozen Arena-Khimki.
On the other hand, this match is not a match of life-or-death for the Red-Blues. It is possible that the Romans will defeat Real in Rome, so to make the play-offs the Red-Blues would need a miracle in Madrid (and of course defeat Plzen in Moscow).
CSKA Moscow 1-2 AS Roma
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