Tasks with stars: how Russian legionnaires finish the year in European competitions

This week marks the end of the European Cup year in the three main tournaments of the Old World — the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League. The teams will hold the final two rounds of the general stages in the new year. Who will our players play against and what are the chances for their clubs to qualify for the playoffs? For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Matvey Safonov (PSG)

With whom and when he plays: Champions League, Athletic (d), December 10, 23:00

In the last round of the French Ligue 1, a significant event took place — for the first time this season, Matvey Safonov entered the field as part of PSG from the first minutes. Rennes did not particularly bother the Parisians' defense (only two shots on target and the final score was 0:5), but the Russian managed to save the team twice, he scored a whist.

PSG are doing great in the Champions League: second place, goal difference +11 and only one point loss in the tournament (defeat by Bayern Munich). The most formidable rivals are already behind us, and the current trophy holder's schedule is quite pleasant — unstable Athletic, middling Sporting and Newcastle, who are losing points through the match. We can try to compete with Arsenal for the championship in the general stage.

On the eve of the European Cup match, the appearance of our compatriot in the goal is one of the main intrigues of Wednesday evening. Will Luis Enrique give Matthew a second chance in a row?

Alexander Golovin (Monaco)

Who and when he plays: Champions League, Galatasaray (d), December 9, 23:00

Monaco continues to surprise this season. The last three matches ended like this: a 2-2 draw with Paphos in the Champions League, a minimal victory over PSG (1-0) and a loss to Brest from the second half of the table (0:1). On Tuesday, we need to try to tame the storm and get maximum points with the Turkish club. Sebastian Pocognoli's French team is already teetering on the edge of the top 24, and the next opponents are not encouraging at all - Real Madrid and Juventus.

Alexander Golovin fully returned to the start of the team and even scored an assist in the victory over the French champion. The midfielder will definitely start for Galatasaray.

Egor Sorokin ("Kairat")

Who and when he plays: Champions League, Olympiacos (d), December 9, 18:30

The Kazakh club is slowly saying goodbye to the dream of overcoming the common stage. Before the sixth round, Kairat is in the penultimate place with one point (they played 0-0 with Paphos). The match with Olympiacos is the last opportunity to cling to hope for the top 24. Things are not going smoothly for the Greeks in the Champions League either, with two points they are only a couple of lines above the yellow-black.

Next year, Sorokin's Kairat will have Brugge, who beat Barcelona, and Arsenal, who are on the first line, which is an additional motivation to defeat their closest rival from Greece.

Autumn Marathon: how Russian legionnaires start the Champions League season

Nikita Khaikin's debut and Egor Sorokin's return

Nikita Khaykin ("Buda-Glimt")

Who and when he plays: Champions League, Borussia Dortmund, December 10, 23:00

The Norwegian champion has not yet justified the status of the main dark horse of the Champions League, which he was awarded before the start of the tournament. Buda-Glimt is among the five worst teams in the draw, although it started with two draws. But then he collapsed, losing to Galatasaray, Monaco and Juventus. He also missed the championship at the finish line, one point behind Viking.

Apart from the fact that Borussia will be the clear favorite for the match anyway, the Norwegians will not have the main bonus — a home stadium in the Arctic Circle. Dortmund are currently sixth and have scored 17 goals, only PSG has more (19) — Khaykin will have to try hard.

Daniil Khudyakov ("Storm"), Nair Tiknizyan ("Red Star")

With whom and when he plays: Europa League, Sturm — Crvena Zvezda, December 11, 20:45

Sturm is desperately trying to get into the coveted circle of teams that will go on to compete for the Europa League trophy. So far, it has been coming out with varying success — four points after five rounds. In general, we ended the autumn in the championship with a failure — only two wins in seven games. Because of this, they gave the first place to Salzburg.

Khudyakov finally fully recovered from his arm injury and slowly began to gain shape. For now, for the second team. But things are not so happy: Daniil has conceded nine goals in five matches, and his Sturm II is in the relegation zone in the Austrian second division.

Nair Tiknizyan will play in the same match. His Red Star team is doing better — victories over Lille and the Romanian FSB allowed them to jump to 22nd place. Nair himself is constantly in the starting lineup.

Magomed Ozdoev, Fedor Chalov (PAOK)

Who and when he plays: Europa League, Ludogorets (Russia), December 11, 20:45

A month ago, the Greeks ended their winning streak — they did not lose points in all tournaments for seven matches to start a new one: after 1-2 against Panathinaikos in the PAOK championship, they have not lost since November 23. The game with Ludogorets is a chance not only to prolong the success, but also to gain a foothold in the top half of the table before the final games. So far, black and white are in 17th place.

Ozdoev remains the team's top scorer in the Greek Super League with seven goals. He hasn't scored a goal yet, and he's only been able to assist once with the Young Boys (4-0). Chalov is still a reserve offensive player — he played just over 40 minutes in November, and remained on the bench in the last two matches. But he appears in the Europa League all the time, and we are waiting for Fedor in the match against Ludogorets.

Russian label: Sorokin and Khaykin bring their clubs to the base of the Champions League

Chalov and Ozdoev are preparing for a decisive battle

Nikita Iosifov ("Tsele")

With whom and when he plays: Conference League, Rijeka (d), December 11, 23:00

In the previous round, the Slovenian club lost for the first time this season in the Conference League to Czech Sigma (1:2). But even so, Celje remained in the top three, losing one point to the Turkish Samsunspor and the French Strasbourg. The Croatian "Rijeka" should not be an obstacle — the closest rival of Iosifov's team is 21 places lower.

Nikita is the main football player of Celje. This season, he scored 8+7 in 30 matches in all tournaments and attracted the attention of Spartak. Iosifov was at the Red and white Academy from 2013 to 2018, and the Muscovites are supposedly not averse to regaining the lost pupil.