While Motherwell were winning in Edinburgh on Sunday, Kuban held Spartak Moscow, the league leaders, to a 2-2 draw and stretched their unbeaten run to 16 games. Their fans turned out in record numbers and they produced the biggest gate in Russia this season when over 30,000 watched the game.
The good news for Motherwell is that Popov, scorer of the two goals in the first leg, is likely to miss Thursday's match. He was substituted on Sunday having sustained some damage to his thigh. On the other hand Cisse got almost an hour on the pitch and he'll be an impressive replacement.
There are no certainties in football and no one who sets off from Fir Park at 4am on Wednesday will expect to return in triumph. The temptation for the manager to ensure damage limitation must be high. Another competitive game so early in the season will give the players more time to become familiar with the set up. No heroics will be required.
Still, there is always the possibility, however remote, of an early goal that could unsettle the home team and lay the foundations of a surprise. That thought will sustain the few travellers as they make their way to Krasnodar in the south of Russia but a more likely scenario will be another 2-0 defeat.
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