Legia Warszawa eliminated Turkish side Gaziantepspor in the Europa League 3rd qualifying round, but they will have to play two perfect games if they are to reach the group stages of the competition. Their opponents Spartak Moscow are on fire at the moment and they are definitely coming to Poland for a win.

Legia need to improve

One of the giants of Polish football are coming on the back of a very disappointing season, in which they managed to achieve a third-place finish and ensure European qualification, but the league record of 15-4-11 shows that there is a lot of room for improvement. Legia boosted their ranks with two very experienced players this summer as defender Michal Zewlakow  and striker Danijel Ljuboja arrived from Ankaragucu and Nice respectively, and they are already considered key players for the team. Legia did well to record a 1:0 aggregate win over Turkish side Gaziantepspor in the 3rd qualifying round, but the team had big problems in their build-up play and will certainly have to improve if they want to get something from this match. Defence with young Komorowski and volatile keeper Skaba doesn’t look all that convincing, while Legia also struggle for creativity in midfield.

Captain Ivica Vrdoljak is suspended for this clash, while striker Michal Hubnik misses out through injury. Top scorer Danijel Ljuboja should play despite struggling with an adductor injury.

Spartak enjoying Europa League

Following several years of struggles, Spartak Moscow are slowly returning to old glory days, with their uptrend in fortunes coinciding with the arrival of Russian legend Valery Karpin. The talented coach led the Red and Whites to fourth-place finish in Russian Premier League last term, while the team also enjoyed a very successful Europa League campaign, having reached the quarter-finals of the competition. After the somewhat slow start of the new league campaign, Spartak appear to have largely profited from the mini break, having won four and drawn one of their last five games. The 4:2 away win over Terek Grozny and 3:0 victory over Anzhi, the team that had Yuri Zhirkov, Roberto Carlos, Mbark Boussoufa and Balasz Dzsudzsak in the starting line-up, proves that Spartak are on fire at the moment, with players’ confidence sky high before the trip to Poland.

Aiden McGeady continues to miss out with injury, while new signing from Ajax, Demy De Zeeuw is set to keep his place in the starting line-up.

Verdict

Legia are far from impressive at the moment and with several important players missing, they don’t look capable of achieving a positive result. Spartak Moscow are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and after easily beating one of the strongest sides in Russia, they should have no problems doing the same against average Polish team.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 2.40 (7/5)

Bookmaker: William Hill