CSKA Moscow need a Houdini escape act to get out of Group B and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League on Wednesday.
They have to beat already qualified Inter Milan at the San Siro and hope the other two teams in Group B, Lille and Trabzonspor, play out a draw in France. But no Russian club have ever returned from Italy victorious.
Anything less than victory in Milan, or anything more than a draw in Lille, will see CSKA crash out of the competition before Christmas for the fourth time in their last five campaigns.
Despite lying in second in the Russian Premier League, CSKA are in rotten domestic form, with only three wins in their last 10 matches, and come off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Anzhi Makhchkala earlier this month.
Moreover, history is also against them. Mauro Zarate’s late strike earned Inter a 3-2 win in a thrilling encounter in Moscow in September. And, it was Inter who ended CSKA’s best-ever run in the tournament, triumphing 2-0 on aggregate in the 2010 quarterfinals, on goals from Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito.
Sneijder is unfit for Wednesday’s match with a muscle problem, and Claudio Ranieri is also missing Brazilian defender Lucio, who has a thigh injury. With qualification secure, Ranieri and may take the opportunity to rest some stars.
CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky has midfielder Zoran Tosic out, but striker Seydou Doumbia returns after sitting out the 2-0 home defeat to Lille last month through suspension.
The Ivorian’s presence could be crucial: He has netted four times in the competition so far, and is far and away the top scorer in the Russian league with 24 goals in 30 games.
Centerback Sergei Ignashevich is also back after an ankle knock in the Lille match.
