The pressure is on Aston Villa as they visit CSKA Moscow needing to win or score at least 2 goals away from home in the return leg of their Round of 32 UEFA Cup clash. The first leg match ended in a 1-1 draw at Villa Park.
It was a most frustrating opening match for the Villains as they fell behind and then had to battle uphill all match long against a pesky CSKA Moscow outfit. The side managed by Martin O'Neill were only able to draw even midway through the second half thanks to a goal by Norwegian international John Carew. Over the course of the 90 minutes Aston Villa would miss countless scoring chances.
The visiting CSKA Moscow were not expected to fare that well but thanks to the inspired play of Brazilian international striker Vagner Love. His goal could wind up being the difference make in this pairing unless Villa can work some magic on the road. Aston Villa were able to qualify for this stage by finishing just behind Ajax Amsterdam and Germany's Hamburg in Group F. CSKA Moscow won all 4 of their matches to finish first in Group H ahead of Deportivo La Coruna of Spain and Poland's Lech Poznan.
Live UEFA Cup
CSKA Moscow v Aston Villa
Luzhniki Stadium, kick off 1700 hours
