Dynamo Kiev will go head to head with Spartak Moscow tonight for the first in a two-leg qualifying match in the Champions League. The two teams enjoy a fierce rivalry that goes back to Soviet times when they would go head to head on a regular basis in the U.S.S.R Championship.
Since the break up of the Soviet Union the two teams come face to face far less often, although in the pre-season Channel One Cup it was Dynamo who scored an impressive 3-0 victory.
The Ukrainian side however struggled to beat minnows Drogheda United to get this far, whilst Spartak are arguably in worse form, suffering a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Moscow rivals CSKA. Whatever the result tonight (13th August) in the Luzhniki Stadium, the final result will be decided in Kiev on the 27th August. |