Pogrebnyak to satisfy hungry Zenit

FC Zenit St. Petersburg forward Pavel Pogrebnyak is ready to take leading man status against FC Bayern München in the absence of the suspended Andrei Arshavin.

Credentials
Arshavin may often steal the headlines but Pogrebnyak has nine UEFA Cup goals already going into the semi-final second leg – and has been called "the man who feeds our families" by his strike partner.

Shoot-out
If he is to keep satisfying the appetite of the Russian title-holders, the 24-year-old may well have to outgun Bayern's Luca Toni, the competition's ten-goal leading scorer, at the Petrovsky Stadium. Pogrebnyak has earned comparisons with the Italian both for his stature and for his striking ability, and said: "It feels good to be compared to Toni, even though he has scored more than me."

List of scalps
The Russian international – a likely candidate for Guus Hiddink's UEFA EURO 2008™ squad – will be confident enough, however, to take on Bayern without the creative flair and incisive passing of Arshavin. His optimism stems from the knockout blows which Zenit have delivered to Villarreal CF, Olympique de Marseille and Bayer O4 Leverkusen in this tournament. "All these teams are members of the European football élite and have top-class players in defence. I can't really pick out the strongest of them."

Go for it
Suitably emboldened, Zenit will treat Thursday's sequel to the 1-1 draw in Munich as business as usual, notwithstanding the absence of five first-teamers. "We have prepared as we always do, even though we are facing very serious opposition. Bayern are one of the leading clubs in Europe but we got a positive result at their place and that gives us a good chance. Whatever, we will play to win, because if we try to keep it goalless it is guaranteed we will lose."