Manchester United will travel back the Luzhniki Stadium for the first time since their epic UEFA Champions League final victory in 2008 as they take on CSKA Moscow in Group B.
The last time United played at the Luzhniki Stadium, it was rain-soaked evening, and they walked away with the Champions League trophy with a thrilling 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Premier League rival Chelsea.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring only to have Frank Lampard equalize against the run of play to end the first half. Both teams traded blows (literally) and had their chances, but they two English powerhouses were not able to be separated after 120 minutes of football, so the shootout was to determine the victor.
Going into Matchday 3, United are sitting on top of Group B with six points, and the Russian side are in third place with just a solitary win, but this will surely prove to be a tricky tie for the reigning English Premier League Champions.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who was found guilty by the Football Association for improper misconduct for the comments he made about the fitness of Alan Wiley, will not the let United players rest on their laurels and take this match easily.
Worries
Ferguson is missing five influential figures for the long trek to the Russian capital, but he will field a team strong enough to match any side in Europe.
Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher both have not fully recovered from their injuries suffered on international duty.
Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra picked up knocks in the match against Bolton and will not be available for Sir Alex.
About
This is the first time that these two sides have met in any competition, and it will again be the battle of the unknown.
CSKA Moscow qualified for the 2009 Champions League by being the runner-up in the 2008 Russian Premier League to Rubin Kazan, but they have not had the best of starts to their current campaign.
They have hired former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid manager, Juande Ramos, to Zico in an attempt to turn their fortunes around.
One of their greatest ever feats was winning the 2005 UEFA Cup by beating Sporting Club de Portugal 3-1.
In addition to the UEFA Cup title, they have won 12 major Russian trophies since 2000 (Russian Cup in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009; the Russian Premier League title in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and the Russian Super Cup in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009).
Who
Their star player from last term, Wagner Love, has been loaned out to Palmeiras until next summer, so they will have to rely on the combination of the Brazilian striking partnership of Guilherme and Ricardo Jesus.
Captain Igor Akinfeev and Daniel Carvalho are perhaps the heart and soul of their current squad.
Akinfeev will be holding down the spotlight, because the Russian goalkeeper has been linked with a move to Old Trafford as a potential successor to Edwin van der Sar.
Squad
Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster; Neville, Rafael, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, J Evans, C Evans, Fabio; Valencia, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Nani; Owen, Berbatov, Macheda, Welbeck.
Treatment
Out: Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park, Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney; Probable: Nemanja Vidic
Projected
E. van der Sar; G. Neville, R. Ferdinand, N. Vidic, Fabio; A. Valencia, P. Scholes, Anderson, Nani; D. Berbatov, M. Owen
Prediction
Manchester United 1, CSKA Moscow 0
Standings
1 - MAN UNITED - 6 pts (+2)
2 - Wolfsburg - 3 pts (+1)
3 - CSKA Moscow - 3 pts (-1)
4 - Besiktas - 0 pts (-2)
Schedule
Oct. 21st - CSKA Moscow v Manchester United - Luzhniki Stadium
Oct. 21st - VfL Wolfsburg v Besiktas - Volkswagen Arena
Nov. 3rd - Manchester United v CSKA Moscow - Old Trafford
Nov. 3rd - Besiktas v VfL Wolfsburg - Besiktas Inönü
Nov. 25th - CSKA Moscow v VfL Wolfsburg - Luzhniki Stadium
Nov. 25th - Manchester United v Besiktas - Old Trafford
Dec. 8th - VfL Wolfsburg v Manchester United - Volkswagen Arena
Dec. 8th - Besiktas v CSKA Moscow - Besiktas Inönü
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