FC Sheriff vs Dynamo Kiev Preview

Posted Thursday, December 02, 2010 by ESPN

FC Sheriff coach Andrei Sosnitski remembers tough contests against his Dynamo Kiev counterpart Valeri Gazzaev.

He is expecting another rough ride when the two sides go head-to-head on Thursday.

Sosnitski, who came up against Gazzaev on the pitch in the former Soviet Union, takes on his old rival from the dugout tomorrow night as the Moldovan champions host the Ukrainian outfit in Tiraspol in Europa League Group E.

The Sheriff boss sees Dynamo, eliminated at the Champions League play-off stage by Ajax, as the favourites to top the group and is prepared for another testing encounter with Gazzaev.

"He was a unique forward. It was tough playing against him," the former defender said.

"Without doubt, Dynamo are favourites in the group. They're a big European team who always set high targets.

"I'm sure their defeat by Ajax will have angered them and made them doubly determined to do well in the Europa League."

While Sheriff were defeated 2-1 in Holland by AZ Alkmaar in the opening round of group matches, Dynamo were held 2-2 at home by Belarus' BATE Borisov, a result Sosnitski feels means his side's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages have not been damaged too much.

"Maybe they underestimated BATE," Sosnitski said.

"The draw in Kiev might be useful to us. We lost, but both Dynamo and BATE dropped points. The battle for qualification is still on."

No Moldovan club has ever overcome a Ukrainian side in UEFA competition since independence, and with his players looking to make history, Sosnitski hopes they can make the most of the occasion.

"Straight after Sunday's victory against FC Sfintul Gheorghe Suruceni we started preparing for Dynamo," he said.

"There is no doubt my players will be hugely motivated. We'll play to win.

"I just hope we can cope with the pressure of this game."

Sheriff captain Vazha Tarkhnishvili admits he is excited about the prospect of playing against Dynamo, but has vowed to focus on the job in hand when the match gets under way.

"Dynamo are a big name in Moldova. There are lots of Dynamo fans here," Tarkhnishvili said.

"I liked watching Andriy Shevchenko. But when I get on the field, I'll forget all that. All I want is to help my team win."