Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Europa League 2021-22
Legia Warsaw host Spartak Moscow at the Stadion Wojska Polskiego in their final Europa League group stage fixture on Thursday.
Top spot in Group C is still up for grabs, as first-placed Leicester City and last-placed Legia Warsaw are separated by just two points.
The winner of this game will be able to secure at least a second-place finish and compete in the knockout round playoffs. The hosts had a great start to their campaign, winning two games in a row, but have lost their last three.
Spartak Moscow recorded a shock 2-1 win over Napoli in their previous outing and will be hoping to avenge their 1-0 home loss in September at the hands of the Polish side.
Aleksandr Sobolev last time out = ⚽️⚽️
🔴⚪️ Who will be Spartak Moskva's hero against Legia?
@fcsm_eng | #UEL https://t.co/E81Jf6hkth
Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow Head-to-Head
There have been five meetings between the two sides across all competitions. They have been evenly matched in this fixture, with two wins each while one game ended in a draw.
The hosts have recorded two wins in a row against the Russian side, including a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture. Lirim Kastrati scored the winning goal in injury time.
Legia Warsaw form guide (all competitions): L-W-W-L-L
Spartak Moscow form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-L-D
Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow Team News
Legia Warsaw
The hosts have a few injury concerns for this decisive game. Filip Mladenovic has been ruled out with a knee injury and will undergo surgery soon. Here are the other absentees for Wojskowi:
- Ernest Muci - Knee injury
- Joel Abu Hanna - Knee injury
- Bartosz Kapustka - ACL injury
- Artur Jedrzejczyk - Shoulder injury
- Kacper Kostorz - Arm injury
- Luquinhas - Muscle injury
🗣️ Marek Gołębiewski:
"We know how important this game is. We have to win."
#LEGSPA #UEL https://t.co/ZsQbdvemar
Jedrzejczyk also picked up a third yellow card of the campaign in his previous outing and will serve his one-game suspension on the sidelines.
Injured: Bartosz Kapustka, Filip Mladenovic, Ernest Muci, Joel Abu Hanna, Bartosz Kapustka, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Kacper Kostorz
Doubtful: Luquinhas
Suspended: Artur Jedrzejczyk
Spartak Moscow
Maximiliano Caufriez is a long-term absentee for the Russian side and has been ruled out with a muscle injury. Here are the rest of the absentees for Gladiatory:
- Ezequiel Ponce - Meniscus injury
- George Melkadze - Undisclosed
- Roman Zobnin - Muscle injury
- Pavel Maslov - Foot injury
- Jordan Larsson - Muscle injury
Aleksandr Sobolev and Ruslan Litvinov are suspended after picking up their third yellow card of the campaign in the win over Napoli.
Injuries: Pavel Maslov, Georgi Melkadze, Ezequiel Ponce, Roman Zobnin, Jordan Larsson, Maximiliano Caufriez
Suspension: Aleksandr Sobolev, Ruslan Litvinov
Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow Predicted XI
Legia Warsaw Predicted XI (3-4-3): Artur Boruc; Mateusz Hołownia, Mateusz Wieteska, Mattias Johansson; Bartosz Slisz, Josue, André Martins, Yuri Ribeiro; Kacper Skibicki, Mahir Emreli, Lirim Kastrati
Spartak Moscow Predicted XI (3-5-2): Aleksandr Selikhov; Ilya Kutepov, Samuel Gigot, Georgiy Dzhikiya; Victor Moses, Nail Umyarov, Jorrit Hendrix, Stepan Melnikov, Ayrton Lucas; Quincy Promes, Mikhail Ignatov
Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow Prediction
Both teams are struggling with injury problems that might impact their performance in this match. Legia have scored just four goals in the competition and may struggle to find the back of the net against the hosts. Spartak have scored nine goals and have the upper hand here.
Defensively, they have had similar fortunes, conceding 10 and nine goals respectively. We predict the game will end in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Legia Warsaw 1-1 Spartak Moscow