Basel try to complete CSKA Moskva double

Having won 2-0 at PFC CSKA Moskva on matchday three, FC Basel 1893 are well placed to progress from Group A as the teams meet in Switzerland for the first time.

• Basel are second in Group A on six points, three behind leaders Manchester United FC; they will qualify for the last 16 with a win if United avoid defeat at home to bottom side SL Benfica.

• CSKA, who have lost the last two after their matchday one victory, have three points and will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose and United win or draw.

Match background

Basel
• Beaten 3-0 at Manchester United FC on matchday one, Raphaël Wicky's team were without a victory in nine European matches, home or away (D3 L6), since a 2-1 home success over AS Saint-Étienne on 25 February 2016, before thrashing SL Benfica 5-0 on matchday two – their record UEFA Champions League win.

• Basel were eliminated from Europe last term following a 4-1 home loss to Arsenal FC on 6 December 2016 – only their fifth defeat in 23 European home games since the start of 2013/14.

• Basel had lost their two previous European home matches before beating Benfica, and collected a single point from their three games at St. Jakob-Park in last season's group stage. The Benfica win was just the Bebbi's second in their last eight European home fixtures, with three losses in that sequence.

• Basel's last home game against Russian opposition was a 2-0 triumph over FC Zenit in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg; the Swiss side went through despite a 1-0 away loss.

• The Bebbi's overall record against Russian teams is W6 D2 L4. The matchday three victory means they have won two of the last five.

• Basel have won four of their five home matches against Russian clubs; the exception was a 3-2 defeat by FC Spartak Moskva in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg (3-4 aggregate).

• Basel qualified by winning an eighth successive Swiss title in 2016/17.

• This is their eighth group stage campaign, and their fourth in five years. Last term they came fourth in Group A, collecting just two points from their six outings.

CSKA Moskva
• Until matchday three, CSKA had won all their previous meetings with Swiss opposition, including getting the better of BSC Young Boys in this season's play-offs (1-0 away, 2-0 home).

• The Moscow club's only other encounters with a Swiss side came in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage, when they recorded two emphatic victories against Lausanne-Sport. CSKA won 3-0 in Lausanne and 5-1 back in Moscow.

• Russian Premier League runners-up in 2016/17, CSKA are in the group stage for an 11th time, and a fifth straight season.

• CSKA have come bottom of their group in their last four UEFA Champions League campaigns. In 2016/17, having qualified automatically for the group phase, they finished behind AS Monaco FC, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur FC in their section.

• CSKA won their first five European fixtures this term, the first four without conceding a goal, including triumphing 2-1 at SL Benfica on matchday one; however, they went down 4-1 at home to Manchester United FC on matchday two, their heaviest home defeat in European competition. 

• Their 2-0 first-leg victory at AEK Athens FC in the third qualifying round ended CSKA's run of ten European matches without a win (D4 L6). They had also lost six of their previous seven European away games, drawing the other.

• The victory at Benfica was their first in the UEFA Champions League group stage since a 3-2 home win against PSV Eindhoven on 30 September 2015; subsequently their record had been D4 L6. It was also their first away win in the UEFA Champions League group stage since a 2-1 success at Manchester City FC on 5 November 2014. Their away record since had been D1 L6.

Coach and player links
• As a player, Basel coach Raphaël Wicky conceded a penalty during Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Russia in UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying; Sergei Ignashevich scored from the spot, one of his two goals in the game.

• Wicky was in the Hamburger SV team beaten 1-0 at CSKA in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Alan Dzagoev struck twice in Russia's 4-1 group stage defeat of Marek Suchý and the Czech Republic at UEFA EURO 2012.

• Suchý played for Spartak Moskva between 2010 and 2013, making eight appearances against CSKA (W2 D2 L4). He was sent off in a 2-1 reverse in April 2012 but celebrated a 3-0 Spartak home win in his last game against CSKA, on 22 September 2013.

• Basel's Geoffroy Serey Dié was captain of the Ivory Coast side that beat Russia 2-0 in a friendly last March. Igor Akinfeev and Aleksandr Golovin started, Viktor Vasin and Mario Fernandes were unused substitutes.

• International team-mates:
Pontus Wernbloom & Alexander Fransson (Sweden)

• Have played together:
Aaron Olanare and Mohamed Elyounoussi (Sarpsborg 08 FF, 2013)

• Has played in Switzerland:
Georgi Milanov (Grasshopper-Club Zürich, 2016)

Match facts

Basel 
• Taulant Xhaka is a booking away from a ban.

• Basel have won six of their last eight games, conceding just twice in that period.

• Basel have 22 points from 13 Swiss Super League fixtures this term – 13 fewer than they had at the same stage last year.

• The Bebbi have lost three of their opening eight league games this term, one more than they suffered in the whole of last season.

• Manuel Akanji struck his first goal of the season as holders Basel booked their place in the Swiss Cup quarter-finals on 25 October, beating second-tier FC Rapperswil-Jona 2-1.

• October signing Albian Ajeti had scored in each of his two outings for the club before Saturday's 0-0 draw with FC Zürich.

• Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who has scored eight goals in 12 appearances this season (half of them penalties), has been out since breaking a metatarsal against Benfica on matchday two.

• Goalkeeper Germano Vailati will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday.

CSKA Moskva
• Pontus Wernbloom and Aleksandr Golovin are both a booking away from a ban.

• Igor Akinfeev has not kept a clean sheet in 42 outings in the UEFA Champions League proper, since a goalless draw at Arsenal FC on 1 November 2006.

• CSKA have won once in their last eight matches in all competitions, scoring just two goals in the process.

• Having drawn 0-0 with FC Zenit on 22 October, CSKA then lost 1-0 at PFC Arsenal Tula on Friday, with Konstantin Kuchaev sent off early in the second half. 

• Goran Čaušić's 79th-minute winner for Arsenal ended the Army Men's run of six consecutive clean sheets in the Russian Premier League. It was the first goal they had conceded in 664 minutes of league action.

• Alan Dzagoev (Achilles) has returned to full training having been out of action since the matchday two defeat by Manchester United FC.