The key facts

  • The Krasnodar — CSKA match will take place on November 7 at the Ozon Arena, kickoff at 19:30 Moscow time
  • Krasnodar sit fifth ahead of the game and lost 1:2 to Rodina
  • Ponomarev called the opponent 'a wounded beast' and noted the Krasnodar side's personnel losses

Former CSKA defender on the match against Krasnodar

Former Moscow CSKA and USSR national team defender Vladimir Ponomarev in an interview with Gazeta.Ru said that the Army Men will find it difficult to hope for a win in the Round 14 match of the Russian Premier League against Krasnodar. 'It will be a very difficult game, very difficult. Krasnodar is a wounded beast. A team that should be among the leaders is sitting in fifth place,' the outlet quotes him as saying. According to Ponomarev, the Krasnodar side have losses: Krivtsov is injured, Cordoba has 'slipped a bit,' but the team keeps working hard up front and striving to score. He added that the hosts must give '100 percent,' while for CSKA the key will be to hold out in defense.

Context: Krasnodar comes into the match after a defeat

The game will take place on November 7 at the Ozon Arena, with kickoff at 19:30 Moscow time. In the previous round, Krasnodar lost 1:2 to Moscow's Rodina at Arena Khimki; the match was officiated by Volgograd referee Rafael Shafeev. Krasnodar opened the scoring: in the 64th minute, Kristian headed in a cross from Vorobyov, in the 69th German Onugha equalized, and Rodina's winning goal in the 87th minute was an own goal — after Machado's low cross, Douglas Augusto deflected the ball into his own net. It is this defeat, which left the team in fifth place, that Ponomarev cites as the reason for the opponent's special motivation.