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Comeback kings CSKA seek vital final push

PFC CSKA Moskva remain firmly in contention for one of the two qualifying places in Group B and will be trying to further boost their claims when they welcome LOSC Lille Métropole.

Vágner Love has helped CSKA climb into second place in Group B
Vágner Love has helped CSKA climb into second place in Group B ©Getty Images

After taking four points from two games against Trabzonspor AŞ, PFC CSKA Moskva are firmly in contention for one of the two qualifying places in Group B and on matchday five will be looking to carry on where they left off against LOSC Lille Métropole.

• On 14 September, in the first ever meeting between the teams, CSKA  found themselves two goals down in northern France with Moussa Sow and Benoît Pedretti scoring in a 13-minute spell just before the hour mark. The Army Men then rallied to earn a point as Seydou Doumbia struck twice in the final 18 minutes.

• CSKA found themselves in the same predicament two weeks later when FC Internazionale Milano led 2-0 in Moscow. Again the Russian side fought back to restore parity but the 2010 winners had the last word this time to register a 3-2 victory.

• A 3-0 matchday three defeat of Trabzonspor secured a first win in the campaign for the 2005 UEFA Cup winners with Doumbia again on target twice, either side of a goal from Aleksandrs Cauņa. A 0-0 draw in the away game in Turkey then lifted CSKA to five points, keeping them level on points with Trabzonspor and four behind Inter.

• Lille drew 1-1 away in Turkey on matchday two with Sow again giving his team the lead. The French champions then slipped to two defeats against Inter, going down 1-0 at home and 2-1 in Milan, Túlio De Melo's late goal in the latter fixture not enough to prevent another loss that left Lille three points adrift at the bottom of the section on two points.

Previous meetings
• CSKA lost their last home game against French opposition, going down 2-1 against Olympique de Marseille in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage. In the same competition the previous season they beat AJ Auxerre 4-0 at home in the quarter-final to set up a 4-2 aggregate success en route to lifting the trophy. In the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage CSKA were 2-0 winners against Paris Saint-Germain FC.

• Before this season Lille had faced a Russian team only once, beating FC Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 at home in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage.

Match background
• In 12 away games at this level (excluding qualifying ties) Lille have managed just one victory, at AC Milan in 2006/07. Of the other 11 games, seven have resulted in defeat with four draws.

Team ties
• Chidi Odiah and Vincent Enyeama have played together for the Nigerian national side.

• Tomáš Necid and David Rozehnal have played together for the Czech Republic.

• Necid scored the Czech Republic's first goal in a 2-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win against Poland on 10 October 2009 in Prague five minutes after coming on at half-time. Ludovic Obraniak was on the opposing side.

• Marko Baša was at FC Lokomotiv Moskva between 2008 and 2011, recording a win, a draw and two losses in four matches against CSKA.

• Joe Cole came on as a second-half substitute in Chelsea FC's 2-0 home defeat of CSKA on 20 October 2004.

• Ireneusz Jeleń scored the decisive goal as Auxerre beat Zenit 2-1 on aggregate in last season's UEFA Champions League play-offs.

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