Who’s out for you and is Azmoun fit?
Ozdoev and Karavaev are both out, but everyone else has a chance of playing and is ready to help the team.
What can you say about Malmo?
Malmo are an experienced team with very good forwards like Birmančević and Čolak, they’ve good players in the middle like Christiansen, and we know they’ve good quality throughout. We know they score a lot and have a good squad.
They qualified past Ludogorets and Glasgow Rangers so they’re a formidable team and will be a tough opponent.
Is Lovren ready to play?
As I've already said, he’s ready to play and he’s preparing for the game as he’s missed a few matches recently, we’ll see how ready he is for the game.
As you prepare for the game do you think Malmo are a Champions League quality team as good as Juventus, or is the Swedish league a lower standard than the Russian league?
We’ve watched all their recent games in both Europe and their league, they have great defenders like Lasse Nielsen, Franz Brorsson and others.
They are a very good club and play good attacking, high-quality football. They might concede some goals, but that’s the price for playing attacking football. In midfield, they have Christensen and other good players. The stats show they’re a good team. Their centre is full of internationals for teams like Denmark and Nigeria.
They’re at the top of their league and the Swedish league has some good teams, I wouldn’t say it’s weaker than the Russian league in any way.
Zenit haven’t won in the UCL in the last eight games, does this put added pressure on you?
No it doesn’t, we take each game as it comes and each match is its own story. If we lose we should work harder.
What do you expect Zenit to do tomorrow and how will you improve after the Chelsea game?
It’s two different games with two very different scenarios and aims, we should control the match more, and play more confidently, although I’m sure Malmo want to do the same. We’ll see who is better prepared on the night.
Malmo are aiming for third place in the group and see you as the team to beat, what’s your realistic aim for this Champions League campaign?
We are simply aiming to play as well as possible and progress from the group. Every team, us and Malmo want to get through to the next stage, and as we’re in a group with Chelsea and Juventus, we understand what that means. We need to play to our best and we’ll see how it plays out.
What can you say about Dzyuba and Azmoun’s partnership together for you?
I think they are both very important players for us and we have games when they play together and matches when they don’t. They were the best strikers in the league last year and are our top forwards, I have no doubt that they will help us in this game.
They both have some very strong qualities and bring different skills that give us variety when preparing for the game.
Allegro recently said that the games against Zenit are key to advancing to the next stage. What can you say about that?
I would say confidently that he meant the games in the middle of the group stage are the most important and that these show you how the group stage will play out.
Chelsea are of course favourites, they are one of the top teams in England and currently UCL holders, but this is football and anything can happen. We’re aiming to play well and see how everything goes.
