Swiss Nyon has once again become the venue for the draws for the main club football tournaments in Europe. The draw for the first round of the Europa League playoffs took place on December 14 at the UEFA headquarters. Russian clubs have recognized their rivals on the way to the prestigious trophy.
Despite the fact that the Europa League tournament is traditionally recognized as the second highest level in Europe (after the Champions League), Russian fans pay special attention to this particular competition. This attitude is no coincidence, because the Europa League is represented by a large number of native clubs, and the chances of reaching the upper stages of the tournament are higher for Russian teams.
In the 2015-2016 season, only two Russian clubs made it to the 1/16 of the UEFA Europa League (in recent years, at least three teams from Russia were at this stage of the tournament). The honor of representing Russian football fell to the Moscow “Lokomotiv” and the club of the same name from Krasnodar.
One of the leaders of Turkish club football, Fenerbahce, became Lokomotiv's rival. Many famous footballers of our time play as part of the Istanbul club, which greatly complicates the task for the “railroad workers”. In addition, the entire football world knows how difficult it is to play matches in Turkey, a country where fans are among the best in Europe for their zealous "pain". However, “Lokomotiv” in the current Europa League has already met twice with the Turkish team in the group stage. With "Besiktas" Muscovites brought both games to a draw - 1-1. Therefore, we can say that Lokomotiv already has experience in matches with such serious opponents.
“Krasnodar” in 1/16 of the Europa League had to play with Prague “Sparta”. A little over a decade ago, this Czech club was a formidable force, consistently fighting for places in the Champions League playoffs. Over time, “Sparta” has somewhat lost its position in the European football arena, but even now this club cannot be called a clear outsider of the confrontation with “Krasnodar”. Russian fans could witness Sparta in Khimki during the qualifying round for the Champions League this season. It took CSKA footballers a lot of effort to advance to the next stage of the tournament. The Czechs did not concede in Moscow, and in their native Prague they were leading 2-0 at all, but in the end they conceded three goals and lost. Thus, “Krasnodar” should approach the meeting with “Sparta” with the most serious attitude.
