Russia return to scene of qualification success

Andorra caused Russia not inconsiderable distress last time the two sides met and will be looking to improve on some – by relative standards – promising results against their guests when the Group B rivals kick off their qualifying bids.

Team news
•Andorra resume their bid to take a first point in UEFA European Championship qualifying having come close in the last edition. Fernando Silva's 87th-minute goal left them at 1-1 in a game against Estonia, only for Indrek Zelinski to snatch a 2-1 win with a goal in added time. Defender Ildefons Lima, who plays for Swiss side AC Bellinzona, is the only Andorra player who does not play in the local league or in the Spanish lower tiers.

• Andorra squad
Goalkeepers: Josep Gómes (CD Ciudad de Vícar), Ferran Pol Pérez (FC Andorra), Josep Rivas Prieto (UE Santa Coloma)
Defenders: Jordi Escura (FC Alcarrás), Xavier Gil (FC Santa Coloma), Ildefons Lima (AC Bellinzona), Alexandre Martínez (UE Santa Coloma), Jordi Rubio (UE Santa Coloma), Alex Somoza (FC Andorra), Óscar Sonejee (FC Santa Coloma)
Midfielders: Xavi Andorrà (FC Andorra), Josep Ayala, (FC Andorra), Marc Bernaus (FC Girona), Manuel Jiménez (FC Santa Coloma), Daniel Mejías (FC Andorra), Sergio Moreno (Hellín Deportivo), Marc Pujol (FC Andorra), Marcio Vieira (Atlético de Monzón), Samir Bousenine (FC Andorra), Cristian Martínez (FC Andorra).
Forwards: Sebastiá Gómez (UE Sant Julià), Iván Lorenzo (UD Alcampell), Fernando Silva (Imperio de Mérida CP)

• FC Rubin Kazan midfielder Alan Kasaev is the only new name in Dick Advocaat's squad, the 24-year-old former Under-21 international having scored four goals in 17 league appearances this term. FC Zenit St. Petersburg goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev returns after missing the friendly against Bulgaria earlier this month, although club-mate Igor Denisov is out with a foot injury.

• Russia squad
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vladimir Gabulov (FC Dinamo Moskva), Vyacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St. Petersburg)
Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Vasili Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Aleksei Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Sergei Ignashevich (PFC CSKA Moskva), Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea FC), Denis Kolodin (FC Dinamo Moskva)
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Everton), Vladimir Bystrov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Alan Dzagoev (PFC CSKA Moskva), Igor Semshov (FC Dinamo Moskva), Dmitri Torbinski (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Alan Kasaev (FC Rubin Kazan)
Forwards: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal FC), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Pavel Pogrebnyak (VfB Stuttgart), Dmitri Sychev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva)

Match background
• Andorra's record in four games against Russia reads W0 D0 L4 (W0 D0 L2 at home).

• Andorra went through the whole of UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying without picking up a point but came uncomfortably close to denying Russia a place in the finals when the two teams faced each other on 21 November 2007.

• With Croatia's shock 3-2 victory against England at Wembley meaning Russia had to win to reach the finals, David Rodrigo's side kept the visitors' nerves jangling. Dmitri Sychev put Guus Hiddink's charges in front on 38 minutes, but they were unable to increase their tally and, after Denis Kolodin missed a penalty, they lost Andrey Arshavin to a late red card.

• Russia met Andorra during qualifying for UEFA EURO 2000 as well as UEFA EURO 2008, and while their home games against the Pyrenean side have been plain sailing – a 6-1 win in 1999 and a 4-0 victory in 2007 – the Estadi Comunal has not been an easy venue for Russia.

• Prior to their UEFA EURO 2008 travails, their only other trip to Andorra yielded a slender 2-1 success on 8 September 1999. Oleg Romantsev's troops owed their triumph to a Viktor Onopko double, the defender responding to Justo Ruíz's first-half equaliser by hitting the winner 12 minutes after the break.

• Andorra have not come out on top in 31 competitive fixtures since a 1-0 win against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 13 October 2004. They have also lost their last 24 competitive games on the bounce.