Spartak have had a pretty rotten start to their league campaign, losing three of seven games including home clashes with newly promoted Nizhny Novgorod and PFC Sochi. European commitments have certainly taken their toll already on Legia Warszawa's league form, with three defeats in five thus far meaning morale won't be at its highest. The hosts undoubtedly have more quality in their ranks and should come through this one on home soil but they need to kickstart their stuttering season to do so. 3:1
Ezequiel Ponce and Quincy Promes got the nod over Jordan Larsson at the weekend and both scored so should retain their places either side of Aleksandr Sobolev. Following the departure of Alex Kral youngster Nail Umiarov should continue to partner Roman Zobnin. Pavel Maslov is sidelined through injury, while George Melkadze remains a doubt. Legia made ten new signings over the summer in preparation for their Europa League campaign. In the absence of Filip Mladenovic, Yuri Ribeiro should continue at left wing-back while fellow new arrival Maik Nawrocki will start alongside captain Artur Jedrzejczyk and Mateusz Wieteska at the back. Mahir Emreli and Tomas Pekhart compete for a place up front. At 41, keeper Artur Boruc is embarking on his first European campaign since leaving Celtic 11 years ago.
Both Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw will view this fixture as a must-win game if they are to have any chance of advancing into the Europa League knockout stages. However, with little to separate the two teams, a score draw could be on the cards at the Otkritie Arena.
Ezequiel Ponce and Quincy Promes got the nod over Jordan Larsson at the weekend and both scored so should retain their places either side of Aleksandr Sobolev. Following the departure of Alex Kral youngster Nail Umiarov should continue to partner Roman Zobnin. Pavel Maslov is sidelined through injury, while George Melkadze remains a doubt. Legia made ten new signings over the summer in preparation for their Europa League campaign. In the absence of Filip Mladenovic, Yuri Ribeiro should continue at left wing-back while fellow new arrival Maik Nawrocki will start alongside captain Artur Jedrzejczyk and Mateusz Wieteska at the back. Mahir Emreli and Tomas Pekhart compete for a place up front. At 41, keeper Artur Boruc is embarking on his first European campaign since leaving Celtic 11 years ago.
Spartak have had a pretty rotten start to their league campaign, losing three of seven games including home clashes with newly promoted Nizhny Novgorod and PFC Sochi. European commitments have certainly taken their toll already on Legia Warszawa's league form, with three defeats in five thus far meaning morale won't be at its highest. The hosts undoubtedly have more quality in their ranks and should come through this one on home soil but they need to kickstart their stuttering season to do so. 3:1