IT’S A HUGE game for Dundalk tonight at Tallaght Stadium.
The Irish side are currently second in Group D on four points, two points behind leaders Zenit and three ahead of third place AZ Alkmaar.
While Dundalk’s progress in Europe has endeared them to fans across the country in recent months, not too much is known about Zenit as far as Irish fans are concerned.
With that in mind, here are some facts you may not have known…
- After 10 games, Zenit are second in the Russian league, with only goal difference separating themselves and leaders Spartak Moscow.
- They finished third in the 2015-16 campaign, gaining an automatic spot in the Europa League group stage as a result. They were also only six points behind winners CSKA Moscow, and four points behind Rostov, who sealed a Champions League qualifying round spot as a result of their feat.
- Zenit’s squad contains a number of players who may be familiar to Irish football fans, including former Chelsea player Yuri Zhirkov, experienced Russia international Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel, who scored the second goal in Belgium’s 3-0 win over Ireland at Euro 2016.
- They won the competition back in 2008, when it was known as the Uefa Cup, with Andrey Arshavin part of the side that beat Rangers 2-0 in the final.
- Other notable ex-players include Oleg Salenko, the Russian striker who claimed the golden boot at the 1994 World Cup, former Bayern Munich star Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Bruno Alves, who was part of Portugal’s Euro 2016-winning squad, former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel and Brazilian striker Hulk.
- Zenit have won the Russian Premier League five times in their history — the last of which was in the 2014-15 season.
- They have fared quite well by their standards in Europe in recent seasons, getting to the Champions League round of 16 last season, while doing the same in the 2013-14 and 2011-12 seasons.
- Their coach is 71-year-old Romanian veteran Mircea Lucescu, who previously managed Inter Milan, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş. Last May, he replaced former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas, who turned down the club’s offer of a contract extension.
- The club’s home ground is Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg — the capacity is 21,500, comfortably more than twice the amount of people that can fit into Tallaght Stadium or Oriel Park. Moreover, they are currently in the process of building a new stadium, the Zenit Arena, which will fit approximately 62,000 spectators.
- The Russians will likely be Dundalk’s toughest challenge yet. They have taken maximum points from their two group games, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-3 and AZ 5-0.
- They played a 4-4-2 formation in both their European matches so far. Against Maccabi, they had the following lineup: Yuri Lodygin; Igor Smolnikov, Luís Neto, Javi García, Domenico Criscito; Aleksandr Kokorin, Axel Witsel, Giuliano, Yuri Zhirkov; Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Róbert Mak. They had two changes to their team to face AZ, with Nicolas Lombaerts and Artyom Dzyuba coming in for Yuri Zhirkov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
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