CSKA Moskva v Aston Villa match preview

CSKA Moskva welcome Aston Villa to Luzhniki Stadium in the second leg of the UEFA Cup. Following the first match that ended in a 1-1 draw the Army-Men are in the drivers seat and are the "beneficiaries" of a questionable 'Villa lineup. Clearly Martin O'Neill has prioritized domestic play for his side as left Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Carlos Cuellar, Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, James Milner, Stiliyan Petrov and Ashley Young out of his squad list.

Of his lineup choices Martin O'Neill said:

"We are not giving up. People sound defeatist. We are going to go there and try to win the game.

"It will be difficult of course. It would have been even if we went with every single player in the squad. But we will go and try and win the game.

"It's now an opportunity for players to prove themselves. But it's not as if we are going in with untried and untested stars.

"We have some really capable players - as we showed in Prague. I'm sure they will step up to the mark again.

"We should look forward to the challenge. You hear talk and you'd think we are beaten already. That wouldn't be my view."

While I understand his decision, it is the fan that suffers because this will definitely not be 'Villa's best starting eleven and it cause a significant tactical adjustment. As the sport grapples with immense financial constraints it needs to consider matters such as these because scheduling needs to be adjusted such that reserve sides are not being fielded in this type of competition.

For the Army-Men Zico has a full lineup available and is very aware the Aston Villa is in need of an away goal. He has stated that he has no reason to rush towards the goal and will adjust his tactic's accordingly. His only decision is whether to go with Deividas Šemberas or young Russian starlet Pavel Mamayev. A victory will see them through to play Tottenham v Shakhtar Donetsk.