Luxembourg, March 24, 2021. In a week where surprising
results were more than anyone would’ve ever expected, Zenit Kazan, a team with
six Champions League titles since 2008 (and five in the last decade), the most
decorated club of this century in Europe’s premiere club competition is in
great danger of crashing out after losing at home in the first leg to Grupa
Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle.
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The task at hand for the Russian
giants is not an easy one, with Zaksa
being one of the most in form teams on the continent at the moment. After winning in
Kazan, Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kedzierzyn Koźle returned to the domestic competition
in the Polish Plus Liga, starting the play-off phase, where on Sunday they
defeated Ślepsk Suwałki 3-1 securing their 24th win out of 27 matches so
far.
- Unlike the first encounter in
Kazan, the match in Kedzierzyn Kozle will be held without the participation of
the public, due to the restrictions in Poland related to COVID-19.
- As a player of Zenit, whose coach was and still is Vladimir
Alekno, Nikola
Grbić won the Russian championship in the 2013/14 season and took 4th place in
the Champions League (final in Ankara).
- Zenit Kazan arrived in Poland on
Monday and on Tuesday the squad from the Tatarstan had its first training before
Wednesday's clash with Grupa Azoty.
Sebastian Świderski, president of
ZAKSA: “The most important thing is that for now all the players are healthy
and we want to use the advantage of our own hall despite the lack of audience.
We are guessing that the Russian team has been hugely teased during the first match
and they will be determined to win here for three points. We, in turn, have a good
memory of the tie against Kuzbass Kemerovo, where we also won away and lost at home and
having this in the back of our heads we cannot make the same mistake a second
time.”
