Who’s going to wake up first?

The meeting of two Euroleague Group A favorites will happen in the strange circumstances. Our team came to Catalonia after the rout in Istanbul as the hosts lost in two games in a row.

“It will be a tough game for both teams as we are coming off the losses,” CSKA head coach Ettore Messina said. “CSKA and Barcelona are still in process of incorporating their new players, of finding the right chemistry which can allow them to play with the same pride and the same strength as they do traditionally. So I expect this game to be a real fight. We are working hard these days; players show their commitment and desire to improve, so hopefully we will be able to play up to the level of the game.”

The Army Men task will be even more difficult because of absence of Nenad Krstic who stayed in Moscow. The Serbian forward has problems with his surgically repaired left knee, therefore the coaching and medical staffs decided to let Nenad practice individually to lower the risk of another injury. Alexey Zozulin also practices individually as part of rehabilitation after right hip injury. Alexander Gudumak works out with the junior team. At the same time Andrey Vorontsevich boarded Transaero charter plane with his teammates again – this time coaches are serious about his possible help in the game against Barca.