Today, at 12:00 p.m. ET, CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen mix it up in 2013 UEFA Champions League Group D action live from Petrovski Stadium in Russia. The game can be live streamed here.
Both teams enter play looking for their first points on the campaign while Viktoria Plzen is looking to do it as a visiting club. Plzen forward Marek Bakos admitted that the club entered play with modest expectations but is proud to be representing the nation in Europe's premier competition. Though the club is modest, Bakos doesn't want anyone mistaking its modesty for a lack of confidence.
"We are confident, but, on the other hand, modest," Bakos said per ESPN. "We want to play a competitive match against every team we face and to get some points out of it."
Since CSKA's pitch in its arena is in such dire shape, the game is contested at Petrovski Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both teams are coming off opening losses as CSKA lost 3-0 at Bayern Munich and Plzen dropped a home game 3-0 to Manchester City. Even though his club is coming off of a defeat at the hands of Manchester City, Bakos is confident his team can turn it around and hopes to win it for the fans and also for the betterment of Czech soccer.
"When we manage to win the title or qualify for the Europa League or Champions League, it's the culmination of our efforts. We're a small club and our fans can appreciate that," he told the league's website, according to ESPN. "From the point of view of Viktoria it's very important. And when it comes to the Czech [UEFA] coefficient and representing Czech football abroad, we're glad we are doing a good job and that all Czechs can be proud of us."
Plzen manager Pavel Vrba hopes his club can continue its successful streak on the road in Europe that has seen the club notch five victories, two draws and no losses in its last seven games as visitors.
On the injury front for Plzen, right-back Radim Reznik may play after he returned from injury on Friday while left-back David Limbersky suffered a thigh injury on that very same Friday and is highly doubtful for this contest.
Meanwhile, CSKA has lost three in a row in Russian Premier League Games and manager Leonid Slutsky is hoping to turn things around starting today against Plzen. CSKA is currently in fourth and five points behind the leaders Zenit. On the injury front for CSKA, midfielder Alan Dzagoev and forward Seydou Doumbia are both doubtful for today's match as they are hampered by hamstring injuries while midfielder Aleksandrs Cauna is out with a broken toe.
Plzen is looking to continue its road success while CSKA is hoping to put its recent Russian Premier League struggles behind it when these two teams hit the pitch this afternoon.
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