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FC Ufa secured a Europa League Playoff tie with Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers when they overcame a close two-legged affair against Luxembourg’s Progres Niedercorn. For a club making their first ever appearance in European competition, these matches are without doubt the biggest matches in the club’s short history. Russian media are already glamorising the tie, made even more inviting by the fact that Steven Gerrard is the current Rangers manager, and it could see the club’s all time record attendance.

However, for most fans outside Russia, FC Ufa will be an unknown quantity. As a relatively new club, not from one of Russia’s main cities, and in their debut European campaign, this is not a surprise.

Who are they?

FC Ufa were formed in 2009, but first played in a competitive match in 2011 just 7 years ago. Having started off in the 3rd tier of Russian Football, their first manager was former Rangers star Andrei Kanchelskis, but he quickly departed the club atfer a poor start. Ufa were then promoted twice in three seasons to reach the Premier League for the first time in their history.

In their first two seasons in the top flight, final day wins vs Spartak Moscow saw them avoid the relegation playoffs and secure their spot in the Premier League in 12th position. However, over the last two seasons, young coaches Viktor Goncharenko (now CSKA) and Sergey Semak (now Zenit) lead them to 7th and 6th placed finishes, using a mixture of experience (a handful of the squad have been with the club since it formed) and youth – both homegrown and well scouted foreigners – such as Man City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, who began his senior career here

Where are they from?

Ufa are based in a city of the same name in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia’s 7th most populated state out of 85 states. With a population of just over 1 million people, the city is just outside Russia’s top 10 most populated cities, and it is the capital of Bashkortostan. It is located almost 1,000 miles east of Moscow, but not close to Siberia, alleviating any worries of cold weather – even this early in the year.

What’s their stadium like?

Ufa’s Neftyanik Stadium is a classic Soviet stadium opened in the early 20th century that saw huge renovations in 2012 when they were promoted to the Premier League for the first time. With a capacity of just over 15,000, Ufa rarely fill out – the city is in general an ice hockey city – but they average 5-6 thousand, peaking perhaps near to or over 10,000 on very big occasions – such as their home leg vs Domzale.

It is quite open, and has a running track around the field. The 3G pitch was complimented heavily by Progres manager Paolo Amodio, saying it was the best one he had ever seen.

How did they qualify?

Ufa were fortunate to qualify in some regards. As a new team, Ufa have now been in the Russian Premier League for four seasons. In their first two seasons, they scraped by and avoided the relegation playoffs on the last day of the season on both occasions. However over the last two years they have significantly improved, finishing 7th and then 6th last season, a record height in the club’s history.

Normally, 6th place would not guarantee European qualification unless the winner of the Russian Cup had already qualified by finishing 1st to 5th. This had looked possible, but Spartak Moscow were knocked out in the semi finals by FC Tosno, who went on to win the cup. However, Tosno were in deep financial troubles at the time, and they had no ability to save themselves from collapse. They did not appeal for a UEFA licence, the club dissolved, and instead Ufa qualified thanks to their hard earned 6th place finish.

How do they play?

This feisty team have been used to using a 5 man defence for the past few seasons now, and based on early matches this year, will be setting up with a fluid 5-3-2 to 5-4-1 formation for the matches against Rangers. This formation has seen them improve their results greatly over the past two years, and their defensive record is fantastic – in the last two domestic campaigns, their total goals conceded is just 55 in 60 matches, less than one per match.

This compact, defensive unit is made up of three strong centre halves, and flanked by two wingbacks, while being backed up by Alexandr Belenov in goal, one of the league’s most underrated goalkeepers, who at age 31 received his first Russia call up last season.

However, while being resolute defensively, they have been lacking up front, and their goal record is quite underwhelming, just 56 in the 60 matches. The fact that they have seen success regardless of their low goalscoring feats shows that they are more than capable of grinding out narrow wins, especially against the big teams.

Over the last two seasons against the “Big 5” of Zenit, Spartak, CSKA, Lokomotiv and Krasnodar, they have played 20 matches, losing just 9 of them and conceding just 19 goals. Considering the size of their budget is perhaps 20 times smaller than those clubs, and when you consider that this record is better than Krasnodar’s vs the other four in the same time period, they are not a club to be under-estimated, especially against a bigger side.

Who is the manager?

The club’s current manager is 36 year old Sergey Tomarov. Having taken over from Sergey Semak in the summer following his departure to Zenit, Tomarov stepped up from a youth team coaching role to become senior manager. Having been with the club since 2011, he has seen Ufa through two promotions, scrape RPL survival twice and now has been handed the reigns for their biggest ever season.

Do they have a star player?

As previously mentioned, Alexandr Belenov is an absolute rock in the Ufa goal and often wins games for them all by himself with some miraculous saves, particularly from the penalty spot – at one point last in 2016 he saved three penalties in three consecutive games. However, that said, all eyes will be on Nigerian star Sylvester “Sly” Igboun.

The attacker is the pinnacle of the team. Most their good attacking play goes through him, and his pace, strength, work-rate and tirelessness make him a very pleasing player to watch, especially in a counter-attacking system like Ufa’s. Though he will be deployed as a striker, Igboun will be given the freedom to roam. He will drop deep to assist his team in defence and to demand the ball. He will hang on the shoulder, ready to outrun any defender to a long ball. He will go wide very often, looking to provide balls for Ufa’s onrushing midfield including 6’5 powerhouse Ivan Paurevic – their two goal hero vs Progres Niedercorn. He is Ufa’s all time foreign top goalscorer, and is just 7 goals from being the top scorer in the club’s history so far.

Fans should also be aware of captain and Slovenia international Bokan Jokic, one of the best left backs Russia, as well as young technical midfielder Ivan Oblyakov, who just achieved his 50th Ufa appearance aged 20.

Can they beat Rangers?

In short, yes. Anything is possible in Europe. While Ufa’s European results so far have been somehwhat shaky, requiring a late goal to get past Domzale and another to avoid extra time vs Progres, they will be gaining in confidence.

They will be slowly getting used to the busy fixture schedule of two games a week, something they have never done, and as the strength of their opposition increases, it should suit their style of play better. Against Domzale and Progres, Ufa were the dominant team in terms of possession, which is not something they are comfortable with. They much prefer being the defensive side and counter attacking.

Against Rangers and Steven Gerrard, they should get that chance. At home, they have only lost 3 of their last 15 home games, conceding just 8 in the process. Their away form, however, leaves a lot to be desired, but they still have more draws than losses.

They need to go to Ibrox on Thursday, and play their normal defensive game, trying to take a draw or a narrow defeat as a worse case scenario. Scoring would be vital, as it would allow them to utilise their home ground fortress mentality to full effect.

One thing is for sure, it will not be the walkover that some Rangers fans are expecting.