The Russian club is playing the UEFA Champions League’s qualifying match at home in Krasnodar on the night of Wednesday, August 7, with the kick-off time scheduled for 8:00 p.m. local time.

KRASNODAR, August 6. /TASS/. Portugal’s FC Porto is the favorite in its upcoming 1st-leg match of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Russia’s Krasnodar FC, Danilo Pereira, the captain of the Portuguese football club, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

"Our club has been always playing in the Champions League’s qualifiers and this is why we are the favorites and have great ambitions," Pereira told journalists. "However, we have a great respect in regard to the Krasnodar FC, which is a good team and it started well the season."

"We [FC Porto] have played several games already and these matches were of great use for us," Porto FC’s 27-year-old defensive midfielder added.

The Draw on July 22 at the UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, placed Krasnodar FC among unseeded clubs in the so-called League Path group.

The winner of the two-match encounter between the Russian and Portuguese clubs will proceed further in the Champions League qualifying play-off round, while the defeated side will be relegated to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.

FC Porto Head Coach Sergio Conceicao told journalists in Krasnodar on Tuesday that the most important was for his club to advance further in the qualifications cycle adding that the opponent in Russia on Wednesday would be a strong competitor.

Conceicao will be absent sitting on a bench in the pitch with his team tomorrow. FC Porto was subjected to penalties by the UEFA as the Portuguese club was late arriving for the Champions League quarterfinals match against England’s Liverpool FC last season.

"It’s always better when the coach is near the players to influence the course of the match," Conceicao told a news conference. "I believe in my coaching staff, so there are no problems regarding my absence on the bench tomorrow."

"The team is motivated and has great ambitions," he continued. "We did not win the championship, we must admit our own responsibility for this, we must leave Karsnodar FC behind and advance to the group stage."

"Krasnodar FC is a very strong team with good play dynamics, good transfers and obviously it will be tough playing against them," FC Porto’s head coach stated.

Conceicao also dismissed earlier media allegations that FC Porto was lucky during the July 22 Draw in Nyon having received Krasnodar FC as its next opponent.

"Who is saying that we were lucky with the Draw? There are no favorites in the sport of football," he added.

Krasnodar FC was founded in 2008 and never played in the Champions League series. The club also never played official matches against Portuguese clubs. Last season, Krasnodar FC finished 3rd in the Russian Premier League (RPL).

Portugal’s famous Porto FC is the last season’s runner-up in the Primeira Liga, which is the top football tournament in the country.

The press office of the Krasnodar FC announced earlier in the day that tickets had been sold out for the encounter against guests FC Porto, stating in particular that 35,074 tickets have been sold for the game on Wednesday at the over 35,000-seating capacity Krasnodar’s stadium.