Vardar v Zenit background
Macedonian football story will be done in UEFA Europa League Group L as a republic hosts a initial UEFA bar foe organisation theatre game, Vardar welcoming Zenit.
Previous meetings
• The sides are assembly for a initial time, and it is Zenit’s initial rival confront with a organisation from FYR Macedonia.
• In their usually past tie opposite a Russian club, Vardar suddenly separated CSKA Moskva in a 2003/04 UEFA Champions League second subordinate round, holding on for a 1-1 home pull after a 2-1 success in Moscow.
• That win stays a usually Macedonian feat in 8 UEFA bar foe meetings with Russian sides: W1 D4 L3.
Form guide
• Vardar have won all 3 of their European home matches this deteriorate – opposite Malmö and København in a UEFA Champions League qualifiers, and afterwards opposite Fenerbahçe in a play-offs for this competition – conceding only once in a process.
• Zenit have mislaid 3 of their final 4 UEFA divided fixtures, a difference a 2-0 win during Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv in this season’s UEFA Europa League third subordinate round.
• Domestic champions final season, Vardar are a initial bar from FYR Macedonia to make it to a organisation theatre of a vital UEFA competition, overcoming Fenerbahçe home and divided in a play-offs.
• UEFA Cup winners in 2008, Zenit finished third in Russia final term; they have competed in possibly a UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League organisation theatre in any deteriorate given 2010/11, personification European football in a open on any occasion.
Links and trivia
• The tour from St Petersburg to Skopje is around 2,100km.
• Zenit have played 158 UEFA games to date; Vardar – named in honour of a stream that runs by Skopje – just 64.
The coaches
• Cedomir Janevski returned to manager Vardar in Aug 2017, carrying formerly served a Skopje side as a defender from 1982–89. He spent many of a inserted years in Belgium, where he played for and coached Club Brugge, among other teams.
• Roberto Mancini took assign of Zenit in Jun 2017. A member of a Lazio side that carried a 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, he coached Internazionale and Manchester City to joining titles, and some-more recently claimed a Turkish Cup during Galatasaray.