The head coach of the blue and whites Marcel Licka in a flash interview with Match TV channel told about his expectations from the cup meeting with CSKA.
— Smelov, Alexandrov and Fomin will play in the center of the field. How will the roles be distributed between them?
— We would like to have rotation between the three players. I don't want Alexandrov to play only as a defensive midfielder, and Fomin and Smelov as "eights". I want there to be movement between the lines. Plus, Bitello can be added to this trio, because he is more of a midfield player.
— What kind of game pattern do you expect, given that there will be another return match?
— I told the players that this is only the first half, because the whole confrontation will last 180 minutes. We need to play in such a way that in the return match we have a chance to reach the final. This does not mean that we will go on the field today and defend the score 0:0. I want us to play actively, squeeze the opponent out of our half and attack dangerously.
— How satisfied are you with the way Maouhoub replaces Tyukavin?
— Mehdi played very well against Makhachkala, was very dangerous in the penalty area. You saw how he used his first moment. It's very good for a striker. It will be very difficult for him today, because Rocha and Diveev are good and aggressive defenders who know how to put pressure on attackers. Mehdi needs to be mentally strong, accept this aggressive game and show his qualities in the penalty area.
