Our next Champions League opponents: CSKA Moscow

Within a short space of time the Moscow side became one of the most important and, above all, most successful clubs in the whole of Russia and this season is their tenth in the UEFA Champions League. They are aiming to go far in this campaign starting with the opening group match on Wednesday night (20.45 CET) at the BayArena. Reason enough to take a closer look at the Werkself's opposition.

Position

Anybody who thinks Zenit St Petersburg is the dominant force in the Russian top-flight should take a look at more recent statistics: Three of the last four league titles were won by CSKA. And this season again saw the permanent rivals in cyan blue put their hands deeper in their pockets than the Moscow club but the two are still neck and neck in the race for the title. Nobody at CSKA will be satisfied with second spot any more. CSKA are currently unbeaten after six games following a 3-0 win against Grozny and are currently second two points behind Spartak and two ahead of Zenit.

Personnel

Consistency as the key asset. In contrast to many other Russian teams it is not possible to get astronomical transfer fees from CSKA – and that despite Roman Abramovich still having shares in the club. Moreover, coach Leonid Sluzki places faith in a well-tuned squad and with just eight overseas players in their squad the club has the least of any top teams in Russia. The coach is the best example:Sluzki is in his eighth season at the helm and, after his less successful other job as Russia coach Euro 2016 in France, he can now again focus completely on CSKA.

Potential

The players at CSKA are called horses in Russia. According to legend because training sessions in the early years the club were held in the stables of a Russian prince. These days horsepower on the pitch is primarily produced by the magic triangle in midfield:Alen Dzagoev, Pontus Wembloom and Roman Eremenko are the linchpin of the team. This season they are the second line behind Lacina Traore who was unable to impressed at Everton or Monaco but found his shooting boots again at Anzhi Machatschkala.

Problems

The central defensive pairing is together for the 13th season in succession. Since 2004, the 37-year-old Sergey Ignashevich has played alongside one of the Berezustki twins Vasili and Aleksey (34) in front of the keeper Igor Akinfeev (30). Experience is good but the defence is not getting any younger. Nevertheless, all four still count as first choices for CSKA.

Prediction

The club's basketball team secured the most important European title in the summer. Led by former NBA player and later final MVP Nando de Colo CSKA won the Euro League. In ice hockey the club is still one of the most successful teams of all: from 1969 to 1990 20 of 22 Champions League trophies have ended up in the Russian capital. The footballers also have one cup in the trophy collection having won the UEFA Cup in 2005 but they are still some way from winning the big one. This season the minimum aim is to go through from the group stage in the Champions League and that seems on the cards with this squad.