Two clubs chasing UEFA Champions League glory will do battle today in a match between Bayer Leverkusen and Zenit St. Petersburg. The group-stage match scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET will be held at the BayArena in Leverkusen and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on Fox Soccer Plus.
Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt had this to offer ahead of today's European encounter (via UEFA): "We're looking forward to playing again after the unlucky match against Stuttgart on Saturday. We know Zenit are a very good team. They're another step on compared to last year and seem to be in very good spirits. That's why it's going to be tough for us. As we did against Benfica, we have to put in a good performance; then, we could even win this match."
"If we play how we want to play, then it's very tough to beat us," he added. "It isn't essential which team has had the longer break since their last game. We have to pay attention if Zenit win possession. They are very strong on the counterattack and have good attacking players. This might be the key."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Zenit S. Petersburg's Hulk has been in scintillating form this season. The 28-year-old has six goals and five assists in 10 league appearances.
Bayer Leverkusen's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Hilbert, Toprak/Jedvaj, Spahić, Wendell; Reinartz, Bender; Bellarabi, Çalhanoğlu, Son; Kiessling
Zenit St. Petersburg's Projected Lineup (4-5-1): Lodygin; Smolnikov, Garay, Lombaerts, Criscito; Witsel, Javi García, Fayzulin, Shatov, Danny; Hulk
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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