KHIMKI, Russia, October 22 (R-Sport) – The only way for out-of-form CSKA Moscow to defeat Manchester City's squad of "classy players" is to rely on team play, the Russian football champions' coach Leonid Slutsky said Tuesday.
CSKA is without a goal in five domestic league games and has suffered injuries to several key players, making Wednesday's home Champions League clash with Man City a daunting proposition.
"We can hardly beat them on skill," Slutsky said. "We have to make sure our collective action and movement is of top class, and use one-on-one battles, the classic techniques to beat classy players."
Wednesday's clash at Arena Khimki on the outskirts of Moscow, and next month's meeting in Manchester "will decide second place in the group" behind "clear favorites" Bayern Munich, Slutsky added.
With defender Mario Fernandes and midfielder Aleksandrs Cauna, Alan Dzagoev and Rasmus Elm all injured, Slutsky said CSKA faces a similar situation to its Champions League quarterfinal against Inter Milan in 2010, when it went down to a battling 3-0 aggregate loss.
Man City and CSKA are second and third in Group D, level on three points, with Bayern first on six and Czech side Viktoria Plzen trailing last after two defeats in its first two games.
