MOSCOW, November 4 (RIA Novosti) – Rubin Kazan will hope to pull off another famous victory when they face Barcelona in Kazan on Wednesday evening, two weeks after beating the European champions in Spain.
Goals from Alexander Ryzantsev and Gokdeniz Karadeniz gave Rubin a 2-1 win in the Nou Camp on October 21 to put the Russian champions joint top on points of Champions League Group F with Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev. Inter Milan, who travel to Kiev to face Dynamo on Wednesday, are bottom with three points.
“There is no need to fire the team up in any special way ahead of the game with Barcelona,” Rubin trainer Kurban Berdyev said. “Our task is to inspire the guys, to make them play as well as they can. And even a bit better.”
Rubin’s home stadium, overlooked by the massive Qolsharif mosque, will be full to capacity on Wednesday for only the third ever top-level European tie to take place in Russia’s mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan. For those not fortunate enough to find a ticket, bars across the city will be packed full as Rubin look to spring another surprise on Josep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
Although temperatures are expected to drop as low as minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 Fahrenheit) in the Tatar capital, the Barcelona trainer was not looking to blame the weather in advance for any misfortune that might strike the Spanish champions.
“The weather should not be a problem for us,” Guardiola said. “A great team should be able to win whether it's cold, hot or if you play against 12 opponents.”
“I'm sure my players will run fast, otherwise they will freeze,” he added.
The match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. local time (17:30 GMT) and will be shown live on Russia’s NTV channel.
Kazan welcomes Barcelona as Rubin look to repeat shock victory
© RIA Novosti . Maksim Bogodvid
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Rubin Kazan will hope to pull off another famous victory when they face Barcelona in Kazan on Wednesday evening, two weeks after beating the European champions in Spain.
