Karpin issues warning - 7M sport

Karpin issues warning



Posted Tuesday, September 28, 2010 by PA

Spartak Moscow coach Valeri Karpin has warned his side not to underestimate Group F outsiders Zilina in their Champions League clash tomorrow.

The Slovakians are making their first appearance in the group stages and began their campaign by losing 4-1 to Chelsea two weeks ago.

Spartak, meanwhile, were impressive 1-0 winners in Marseille, but Karpin insists that will count for nothing in the Russian capital.

He told uefa.com: "There are no small matches in the Champions League. Although Zilina are less well known than Marseille, Slovakia were in the last World Cup, unlike Russia, and recently defeated our national team - so there is another motivation for us.

"I have not noticed any complacency in the team but I'm trying to emphasise to the players that our opposition should not be underestimated.

"There are more than enough examples of a team stronger on paper or in the eyes of fans or journalists losing to a team much weaker on paper."

The Russians will be without Nikita Bazhenov (thigh), Kirill Kombarov (ankle) and Nikola Drincic, who must wait to make his competitive debut after recovering from a broken leg, but Nicolas Pareja has recovered from a calf problem.

The player Zilina will be most wary of, though, is striker Welliton, who has scored 16 goals in 17 league appearances this season.

Coach Pavel Hapal is well aware of Spartak's attacking prowess but believes Zilina can expose deficiencies at the back.

"We played open football against Chelsea, as we have all season, and these are our principles, which we will not change against Spartak," he said.

"Spartak's whole team are very strong individually but I would like to single out two players - Welliton and Alex. They complement each other and they are real stars.

"Their attack is their strength but their defence is their weakness and I hope my players show how to break them down.

"We try to win every game and tomorrow's match against Spartak will be no exception, but we shall see how it goes. We also aimed to play our best against Chelsea but failed."

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