Zenit continue bid for European glory
Published 01 May, 2008, 09:19
Tonight sees possibly the biggest game in the history of Zenit St. Petersburg, as they take on tournament favourites Bayern Munich in the second leg of the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Zenit have a real chance of making the final after bagging a vital away goal in the 1-1 draw in Germany.
But the side from St. Pete will be lacking some of their key players tonight, including star striker Andrey Arshavin and midfielder Radek Sirl. Also, defender Aleksandr Anyukov could miss out through injury.
Nevertheless, Zenit will be doing their utmost to continue their quest to become only the second-ever Russian team to win a major European trophy. If they’re successful tonight, Zenit will travel to Manchester for the final.
Head Coach Dik Advocaat is under no illusions about the size of Zenit’s task.
“The most important thing is that the players who go out tomorrow will give more than 100% to make it very difficult for Bayern. Don’t forget that Bayern is one of the best teams in the world,” he told journalists at a pre-match news conference.
Bayern, meanwhile, will look to do the business away from home for the second round running, having squeezed past Getafe of Spain on away goals last time out.
There are no reported injury problems for the Bavarians, who've had striker Miroslav Klose, defender Filipp Lamm and keeper Oliver Khan all declared fit.
Bayern are still on course to complete a treble this year, having already wrapped up the domestic league and cup double.
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