GROUP D

the Russians and with a home fixture against group winners Porto. Lokomotiv travel to Germany to face a Schalke side still smarting from their weekend Bundesliga defeat by local rivals Dortmund.

With four defeats and only one victory from their Group D campaign so far, Lokomotive need a big improvement tonight if they are to secure European football after Christmas. The club’s Brazilian goalkeeper Guilherme is sure the team will knuckle down and get the result they need to leapfrog Galatasaray.

“We could play better in the Champions League, but I don’t think we’re playing badly. We’ve lacked concentration,” Guilherme explained. “We’ll be more focused tomorrow. We have a chance to get into the Europa League. I hope that everything works out.”

Lokomotiv boss Yuri Semin isn’t even considering the prospect of Schalke playing a weakened team. “You should always rely only on yourself,” he said. “It won’t work if we rely on Schalke. We’re not counting on benefits from Schalke.”