This is a must-win game for the hosts after taking just one point from possible six, so there are no doubts that CSKA will be very motivated to record their first win in Group B. Trabzonspor, on the other hand, were very lucky to pick up four points from first two rounds and their good run of results will be put to a serious test in Moscow.

Important games on both fronts

CSKA Moscow started their domestic season in impressive fashion and they kept the rich vein of form until the end of July, but the team showed a big dip in form afterwards. Injuries to star players as well as the busy schedule soon started taking its toll on Leonid Slutsky’s side and the Army Men have been pretty inconsistent of late. Next few weeks will be crucial for them as CSKA not only need to return to contention for the top two places in the group, but they also have just three more games in domestic championship to try and neutralize the two-point gap behind leaders Zenit, that is if they want to win the league title. While experiencing some problems on domestic stage, CSKA did well to bring one point from their first group game against Lille, but the 3:2 home defeat to Inter was seen as a major setback. Everybody at the club are now hoping Leonid Slutsky’s men will prove their worth against Trabzon, with players like Dzagoev, Vagner Love and Doumbia expected to pull the weight.

Igor Akinfeev, Keisuke Honda, Tomas Necid and Mark Gonzalez remain long-term worries, while Sekou Oliseh is also sidelined.

Lucky lucky Trabzon

If there is a team in European football that has received quite a few smiles from the Lady Luck that is definitely Turkish side Trabzonspor. Having finished the league campaign in second place, Trabzon entered the Champions League qualifiers, where they were beaten by Benfica. The team continued their European campaign by playing Athletic Bilbao in Europa League play-offs, only to find out that they have been awarded a place in Champions League group stages due to Fenerbahce’s involvement in a match fixing scandal. The Turkish side were then completely outplayed by both Inter away and Lille at home, but they still managed to pick up no less than four points from those two games, proving the aforementioned claim that Lady Luck just keeps smiling on them. Meanwhile, Senol Gunes’s side have done really well on domestic stage, but they now face a very good European side without several key players, which is likely to damage their chances in this clash.

Key striker Burak Yilmaz, who scored 8 out of Trabzonspor’s 10 goals in Turkish Super Lig is serving the final match of his three-game ban, whereas playmaker Alanzinho and important striker Paulo Henrique miss out through suspension and injury respectively.

Verdict

CSKA Moscow have shown a lot of potential this season and with players like Vagner Love, Dzagoev, Tosic and Doumbia up front, they look more than capable of scoring a couple against Trabzonspor. The Turkish side enter this game without three extremely important players, which is why home win looks like a banker here.

Our prediction: CSKA Moscow with 0.75 Asian handicap

Odds: 1.82 (41/50)

Bookmaker: 188BET