Riding high in the Russian Premier League, five points ahead of nearest challengers Lokomotiv Moscow and 10 points above reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg, CSKA Moscow have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season.
Now favourites to win the title, the Krasno-sinie welcome Manchester United to Moscow for Wednesday night's Champions league match with their tails up, as manager Leonid Slutsky looks to have regained his midas touch, after also engineering the Russian national team's turn-around to secure Euro 2016 qualification.
With that mind, Goal takes a look at the players that could damage Louis van Gaal's side...
Seydou Doumbia
Quite simply CSKA's stand-out player, Seydou Doumbia is a hero with the fans in Moscow, regularly found at the top of the goalscoring charts in Russia and a powerful, pacey menace to any defence.
The Ivorian was prolific in his first spell with the club and is now with Slutsky's side for the second time, re-joining on loan from Roma after moving from CSKA to the Italian capital in January 2015.
Despite failing to really find form with Rudi Garcia's Serie A challengers, Doumbia has seamlessly slotted back into life in Russia, with five goals and five assists from eight appearances.
He may be the most likely to trouble United goalkeeper David De Gea on Wednesday.
Alan Dzagoev
A brilliantly talented playmaker, Alan Dzagoev has often flattered to deceive in a CSKA shirt. The Beslan-born midfielder burst onto the Russian Premier League scene in 2008, starring in the Russian Cup Final as the Moscow side defeated Amkar Perm. Since then, Dzagoev has improved, but there is a feeling that injuries and the pressures of being thrust into the wonderkid limelight have stunted the Russia international's growth.
Now aged 25 and a regular in the national team, the playmaker is a key fixture for club and country, working well in tandem with Roman Eremenko for CSKA.
With a prolific eye for a pass, marked with the 18 chances he has created in the Russian Premier League this season and a pass completion rate of 81%, Dzagoev is now reaching the age where he should be dominating matches at Champions League level. The game against United could give him the chance.
Ahmed Musa
First utilised as a winger when brought to Russia, Ahmed Musa was wasteful in the early part of his CSKA Moscow career. But since Seydou Doumbia's ill-fated move to Roma in January, the Nigeria international has handled the added responsibility well, developing into an explosive central striker.
With Doumbia now returned from his Italian exploits, Musa faces competition to spearhead Slutsky's side, though the Nigerian has impressed for the league leaders this season, outscoring his team-mate with six goals in 12 appearances in the Russian top-flight.
The Nigeria international is likely to be used in behind Doumbia or out wide against United, tasked with deploying his blistering pace to trouble the United defence in the pockets of space between the centre-backs and full-backs.
His chance conversion rate is still low at 30%, but the 23-year-old is improving each season. Chris Smalling & co should be wary of Musa's talent.
Comments
Post a Comment