Position
Yuri Semin has brought success back to the railway club – once again. The 72-year-old coach is already in his third period at the helm at Lokomotiv Moscow. All three league titles in the club's history are down to him including the last one in 2018. Last season winning the Russian domestic cup competition was followed by being runners-up in the Russian top-flight behind Zenit St. Petersburg – thus bringing the second successive qualification for the Champions League. These are golden days for the club who had not been in Europe's premier club competition for 15 years preceding the title win. They are hoping for greater success in the group with Bayer 04, Juventus and Atletico compared with last season when they finished fourth in the group behind Porto, Schalke and Galatasaray. The current campaign got off to a brilliant start with a win in the Russian Super Cup against the perpetual rivals from St. Petersburg and the team have also made a decent start in the league and they are currently fifth after eight games – albeit only three points behind league leaders FK Krasnodar. And they also registered a win before the match at the BayArena: Lokomotiv won 1-0 away to FK Sochi on Saturday.
Personnel
Most of the Lokomotiv Moscow players are probably not known by the wider football world in Germany even though a number of players were in the Russia squad for the 2018 World Cup quarter-final. There are a couple of players from the Bundesliga including Benedikt Höwedes (on the left in the photo above with Vladislav Ignatiev). The long-standing captain of Schalke 04 and 2014 World Cup winner moved to the Russian capital last here and now has a regular position in central defence after initial teething troubles. Höwedes had to be substituted in the game against Sochi due to a cut but he wants to play against Bayer 04. His partner at the centre of the Moscow defence is also familiar face for many Werkself supporters: Vedran Corluka made eight appearances for Bayer 04 in the second half of the 2011/12 season including the Champions League Round of 16 game against Barcelona. Following his brief stay at Leverkusen, the Croatia defender and World Cup runner-up in 2018 moved on to Lokomotiv where, after seven years, he has become a key player and is now captain of the team. The Moscow strike force includes another former star in the Bundesliga: Jefferson Farfán, a Schalke winger for many years and team-mate of Höwedes, is still playing at the age of 34 although he is not in the Champions League squad due to a knee injury picked up at the Copa America. The recent success for the Moscow club means they have been able to retain a number of players who have attracted attention from abroad. The Pole Grzegorz Krychowiak moved to the Russian capital last season from Paris St. Germain and he plays in the centre of midfield alongside Joao Mario who is on loan from inter Milan. Mario was a European champion in 2016 with Portugal – alongside his current team-mate Éder who has played for Lokomotiv since last season. The tall central striker scored the winning goal for Portugal in the European Championship final against France.
Problems
The twins Anton and Aleksey Miranchuck are hardly known in Germany. That could soon change as the 23-year-olds count amongst the top players in the Russian top-flight and it is possible they may soon be playing at a top European club. At the moment, the pair normally play together in attacking midfield for Lokomotiv. But Aleksey, who usually is the playmaker in the side and has already scored three goals in the league, will probably be ruled out of the game against Bayer 04 due to a muscle injury. As Farfán is also sidelined, the coach Semin is missing two important players up front.
Potential
The fact internationally recognised players like Höwedes, Krychowiak and Joao Mario decided to sign for Lokomotiv demonstrate a considerable increase in the reputation of a club that has often only finished mid-table in the Russian league over the past ten years. Renewed qualification for the Champions League has also brought funds into the club that has helped to make such signings possible – and that should continue in the future. If the success of the past two years continues, Lokomotiv could establish themselves as the top club in Moscow ahead of CSKA, Dynamo and Spartak.
Prediction
On paper, Lokomotiv are the outsiders in such a strong group alongside Juventus, Atletico and Bayer 04. However, with internationally experienced and tried and tested new signings, the club should be able to perform better in the Champions League compared with last season and they are definitely capable of springing a surprise or two.
