Champions League 2015/16 profiles: CSKA Moscow

Russian juggernauts CSKA Moscow, 7/4 with Coral to qualify from Group B, will be aiming to make it tricky for Champions League pool rivals Manchester United, Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven.

Currently running amok in their domestic league, and beaten just once across all competitions this campaign, can CSKA pull off a continental shock?

Domestic league: Russian Premier League

How they qualified: Runners-up spot in the Russian Premier League saw the Red-blues qualify for the Champions League play-offs. Defeats of Sparta Prague and Sporting Lisbon have since allowed them entrance into the competition proper.

Best Champions League era performance: CSKA had their best run in 2009/10, when the Russians fell 2-0 on aggregate at the quarter-final hurdle to eventual winners Inter Milan.

Coach: Leonid Slutsky. According to reports, the former custodian’s playing career was cut short after Slutsky injured his knee falling out of a tree to rescue a cat, but he has since found success as a coach.

The 44-year-old, currently juggling managerial roles with both CSKA and Russia, has lifted the Russian Premier League twice.

Ins and outs: There was not much transfer merry-go-round action in Moscow, with former striker Seydou Doumbia, loaned back from Roma after being sold last summer, the only addition of note.

Familiar faces: Wily winger Zoran Tosic famously had a short and not-so-sweet stint with Manchester United, for whom he made just five appearances. Will he show the Red Devils what they are missing when he meets his former team?