Zenit travel to the Spanish capital to face an in-form Atletico Madrid in tonight’s Champions League group stages.
Zenit were drawn into a challenging group alongside Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and Champions League new boys, Austria Vienna. Despite obvious challenges away to Atletico and Porto, Zenit will be quietly confident that they can progress through to the knockout phases providing they improve on their rather dismal away record in European competitions. One would expect Zenit to beat Austria Vienna both home and away, but Atletico and Porto most probably will win those games too.
Comparisons
This means that Zenit’s key matches will be against Porto, and first and foremost, Atletico. ‘Los Colchoneros’ (The Mattress Makers) as Atletico are commonly known (in part due to their ‘sleeping giant’ status), will be aiming to shake off that tag in this year’s competition. Atletico have started the La Liga campaign in imperious form, winning all 4 league games so far. Zenit are also in great form, and are on a 10 match unbeaten run in all competitions. The home side comfortably saw off newly promoted Almeria in La Liga at the weekend, and Zenit beat Terek 2-0 on Saturday.
Injury Worries
Similarly to CSKA, Zenit’s victory against Terek came at some cost. Both full back Aleksandr Anyukov and artistic midfielder Roman Shirokov picked up injuries, ruling them out of Wednesday’s opener. This will be a big blow for Zenit, who already have Dominco Criscito and Vyacheslav Malafeev on the injury list, whilst Hulk will likely only be available as a sub, if that.
Tactics
The hosts are likely to start off in a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Gabi and one of Mario Suarez or Tiago shielding an impressive back 4. Koke and presumably Turan will add support to the front to of David Villa and the talented yet enigmatic Diego Costa. Zenit, meanwhile, will most probably start off in a 4-3-2-1 or a 4-3-3. Expect one of Tymoshchuk or Shatov to come in for the injured Shirokov, whilst Danny and Arshavin could provide the platform to build attacks and support Kerzhakov. Hulk starting would be a big boost for the St Petersburg club, but he is expected to start on the bench.
Key Battles
Spalletti and his side will have to be patient to succeed in Madrid. Diego Simeone’s Atletico side are notoriously hard to break down, whilst they counter attack with devastating effect, so the Zenit back line will have to be aware. A key battle could well be the one in midfield. Witsel and co will have to manage the situation well, and not get caught too far up-field, leaving the defense exposed. Whilst Kerzakhov will have to be pro-active and take any chance that comes his way.
Prediction
Zenit will be all too aware of the qualities that Atletico Madrid possess and to have any chance of coming away with all 3 points, Spalletti’s men will have to execute their game plan perfectly. Atletico will be wary of Zenit’s abilities though, and may invite pressure which the visitors will have to take advantage of. I expect the hosts to edge this one though.
Prediction: Atletico 2-1 Zenit
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