FOCUS ON SPARTAK MOSCOW

MANAGER

Raul Riancho remains in caretaker charge after assuming control days before the trip to Scotland following the dismissal of Italian Massimo Carerra, who led Spartak to the title in 2017. The Spaniard, who had never managed a team before, has faced criticism from fans and the media during his short spell in charge.

FORM

Spartak have reached the quarter-finals of the Russian Cup since their goalless draw with Rangers last month but their Premier League form remains poor. They suffered a fourth consecutive home defeat in the league on Sunday, losing 2-1 to Ural to leave them in sixth in the table. Spartak sit bottom of Europa League Group G with two points from three matches.

FANS

Spartak are known as the ‘People’s Team’ but Riancho accused fans of trying to destroy the club and break some of his players’ careers after they unleashed their wrath on Sunday. The caretaker boss claimed some supporters were even abusing players during the warm-up. Local estimates say only about 15-20,000 are expected at the Otkritie Arena this evening.

PLAYERS

Brazilian midfielder Fernando, pictured, has returned to training following the thigh injury he picked up at Ibrox. But Cape Verde striker Ze Luis – who scored six goals in five games before the trip to Glasgow – is set to miss out with a hip problem.