Zvezda seek to undo Umeå in Kazan

They have played one proper competitive game between them in 2009 but on Sunday, Zvezda-2005 and Umeå IK go head to head in Kazan in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Cup semi-final.

Contrasting records
Zvezda have won all eight matches on their European debut, as the only survivors from the first qualifying round and already the best-ever Russian performers in the UEFA Women's Cup, while Umeå hope to lift the trophy for the third time and reach a record sixth final, having lost at that stage in the last two seasons. The game is being played at the Tsentralniy Stadium, which will stage FC Rubin Kazan's UEFA Champions League matches next term, as Zvezda's Perm home 500km away does not have the correct licence.

Newcomers
The better news for Zvezda coach Aleksandr Grigoryan is that he has a full squad to pick from, including two new signings, defender Ksenia Tsybutovich and striker Darina Apanaschenko. However, with the domestic campaign yet to start, his side's last competitive game was in March. They have had to make do with training camps and friendlies, while the club's Russian internationals did not participate in the Cyprus Women's Cup earlier this month.

Rested stars
Umeå have only been back in serious action this last week, warming up with a 1-0 Swedish Super Cup home loss to Linköpings FC on Sunday before opening their Damallsvenskan title defence with a 2-0 defeat of KIF Örebro DFF three days later. The victory was achieved in temperatures of -12C, and courtesy of two goals from Madelaine Edlund, as the team begin life after departed star Marta. Not only did the Brazilian leave over the winter, so did captain Frida Östberg and coach Andrée Jeglertz, whose replacement Mika Sankala rested key players including Ramona Bachmann and Hanna Ljungberg on Wednesday. They should return at Zvezda along with Brazilian midfielder Elaine, who played the last 20 minutes against Örebro having missed most of 2008 with knee ligament damage.

To read an interview with Aleksandr Grigoryan, click here.

To read an interview with Mika Sankala, click here.