Russian giants CSKA Moscow are aware they need to try and get something from this match if they are to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

Meanwhile, Manchester City arrive in Moscow buoyed by the impressive display in the 3-1 triumph over West Ham and they remain favourites to win this tie.

CSKA Moscow produced quite a coup by pipping star-studded Zenit to the league trophy last term, but things have not been exactly going according to plan this season.

The Army Men did enjoy a brilliant start to the season, hammering their title rivals in the Russian Super Cup before picking up 20 points from first 8 league fixtures.

However, things than started taking the wrong turn, with CSKA losing five of last seven matches in all competitions.

And while Zenit are slowly getting away in the league, the Army Men are currently tied on points with second-placed Manchester City in their Champions League group.

This means that a win on Wednesday evening could go a long way, but with a number of key men missing, there is no value in odds of 5.00 (4/1) for a home win.

Alan Dzagoev, Aleksandrs Cauna and Mario Fernandez are definitely out, whereas Sydou Doumbia is doubtful with a back problem.

The good news is first choice goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev should start after recovering from a knee problem that kept him out of the Zenit game.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Akinfeev – Nababkin, V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, Schennikov – Wernbloom, Milanov – Tosic, Honda, Zuber – Musa.

This was always going to be a difficult season for Manchester City, but the Citizens can take comfort from the fact they cannot do much worse than last term.

While suffering occasions slip-ups, the team have been showing a lot of promise under Manuel Pellegrini, and they are now effectively back to the Premier League title chase.

The 3-1 victories over Everton and West Ham helped the players restore the lost confidence after back to back defeats to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, so the Citizens will fancy their chances of winning in Moscow.

Given that the visitors have no choice but to try and win this match, there is a lot of value in betting on away win at odds of 1.80 (4/5).

The West Ham game proved how much the team depend on David Silva and the Spaniard is likely to prove a handful for CSKA defenders as well.

Meanwhile, captain Vicent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Jack Rodwell haven’t made the trip due to various ailments.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Zabaleta, Garcia, Nastasic, Clichy – Toure, Fernandinho – Navas, Aguero, Silva – Dzeko.