Sergey Semak: “We must do everything we can to win at home”

The Zenit manager on the upcoming home game with Anzhi.
Who is definitely not available for Sunday's game with Anzhi? 

The situation hasn't changed, Erokhin is still continuing to have treatment. Kuzyaev and Marchisio are not in first team training. There are also problems with Rakitsky and Rigoni, so their participation is questionable. The rest are all ready to play on Sunday. 

Matches with teams from the bottom of the table are not always easy for Zenit at home are you worried about underestimating your opponent?

No, not worried. All teams can defend well enough. If a team from the bottom plays away, they never make it easy for the teams at the top. There is not a huge difference between the teams and all matches are difficult. I do not worry about underestimation and this won't happen. We are preparing in the usual way. We understand that the Anzhi players will be giving 100% and will give their all on the pitch for a positive result for them. For us, the result is even more important. We must do everything we can to win at home. 

Noboa is ready to play but has been on the bench. Is it just because of the limit that he doesn’t play? If Kuzyaev had not been injured, would Christian be playing instead of Ozdoev? And would you consider Noboa for set-piece duties?

Of course we have thought about Noboa and Christian is among those players who are out the standard we want and can play. Noboa has missed a lot of games and isn't starting not only because of the limit, he still needs to get into match fitness. Unfortunately, we cannot give him playing time in some matches. Noboa is a very important player for us. He is ready to play and he will at the right time and depending on the situation and the team we are playing. 

On Monday you said that a good formation for Rigoni was 4-3-3. In winter, you said the same thing about Marchisio and Kuzyaev. Is it possible to say the same about Noboa? Can we assume that the match with Anzhi is the best time to experiment? 

The fact that Christian can play in a three in midfield is indisputable and this is an option we keep in mind. There are certain tactical formations which we are thinking about and everything has its time. Both the limit and the quality of the players we have allow us to play how we are at the moment. We have certain thoughts about what will happen next and there are certain factors with the limit, if we are talking about playing 4-3-3 then in the future it is possible, at the moment it is quite difficult.

Ivanovic has three yellow cards and next week its Krasnodar. Is there a thought to leave him out or to act more carefully against Anzhi? 

You should always play carefully without stupid cards. Ivanovic is ready to play and we are not going to leave him out. For us, the most important game is the next one. We do not think about what awaits us after that match. We must do everything to win on Sunday and then we will get ready for Krasnodar from Monday. Naturally, every player is important to us. For Branislav, it is important not to make mistakes and not get a card, he knows this. But this is football, a game, to predict things is quite difficult. 

You said that some positions require players who can beat players with one on ones. Are Rigoni and Shatov suitable for this? 

As for Rigoni, he prefers to play with space. He has good speed and ability, in space he can shot and run. This game is more suitable for him and if we are talking about limited space and time. This suggests that we should play another type of football, adjust our game to our existing players. If it is quite difficult to beat a player. We move in another way, we will work out other interactions.