CSKA Moscow emerge from their winter hibernation...

With the Russian season ending last November, CSKA have not played a competitive match since defeating Turkey"s Besiktas JK on 8 December to make the knockout stages of Europe"s most prestigious club competition.

"Friendly matches, regardless of the results, cannot compare with competitive games. We can talk about CSKA"s form as much as we want, but only official fixtures will give us the answer," trainer Leonid Slutsky said ahead of the tie.

CSKA are likely to start without teenage star Alan Dzagoyev, who is recovering from a groin injury.

But Milos Krasic, the Serbian attacking midfielder who has attracted attention from leading European clubs, is fit and ready to add to his four goals in this season"s tournament.

Moscow has seen the snowiest February for 40 years, and while Krasic admitted that the conditions, plus the Luzhniki stadium"s artificial surface, would help CSKA, he was also sharply aware that the former Red Army club faced a tough battle

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