AEK will face Shakhtar Donetsk tomorrow (Oct. 14, 10:00 p.m.) against Shakhtar Donetsk at London’s “Stamford Bridge” for the second matchday of the Champions League, aiming for a 2-2 record in the group stage.

One day before the match, Marko Nikolić spoke at a press conference ahead of the match against the Ukrainians and discussed what his team needs to do to come away with the three points against a tough opponent.

Here’s what he said in detail:

“Good afternoon, everyone. Tomorrow’s game will be very demanding because soccer at this level is difficult. We want to play well and earn the three points. All opponents are tough, and we’ll try to get the points. We don’t know our chances yet; we’ll find that out.

They have a lot of talented Brazilian players; they play well with the ball, but even better without it. There are good players on both sides. There will be at least 10,000 of our fans there to inspire us; we want to do well in this tournament, and we’ll try to make that happen tomorrow.

I can’t draw any conclusions at this point. I know some people are talking about a contrast between our home and away performances, but that’s not true. All teams perform better at home than on the road. In the Champions League, every match—especially away from home—is difficult. We’ll fight; we’ll give it our best shot.

I don’t see any connection between the Conference League matches and those in the Champions League—not that I’m downplaying our run in the Conference League last year. Higher intensity, more pressure, greater focus. It’s in our hands; we’re fully fueled. We’ll give it our absolute best.

Varga is with us; he’ll train today. He’s a tough player with the right mindset. He’s a fighter and a team player; I’m glad to have him on our team. He’s worked hard to get ready. I wouldn’t want to play him tomorrow if he’s not ready—we need him for the rest of the season. We’ll have to weigh the risks and make a decision. In any case, he’s here and available for tomorrow’s game.

Zubkov may play; he’s an outstanding player and a good person. He joined us this year; he had a back problem but has been training over the last few days and is in good physical shape. A lot has changed at Shakhtar since he was there; he couldn’t help us with that. We all know things about the other team.

Right now, we’ll figure out how to set up the right formation and field the right starting 11 to get the result we want. That doesn’t mean we’ll use more midfielders than usual; we simply always try to find the best starting 11 from a tactical standpoint.”

Zubkov spoke on behalf of the players: “This is the first time I’ll be playing against Shakhtar. I’ll have double the motivation for this game. I’m very happy to face my former teammates on the field.

Playing in stadiums like this, against the world’s top teams, is always special. What I want is to contribute to AEK.

What Shakhtar is going through right now is very difficult. It’s a 10- to 12-hour journey by plane and bus. That takes a toll on the players, especially when it comes to their recovery, since it’s a grueling process after every match.

Of course, they’ve been here in England for a few days now, so I don’t think it will affect them.”

*photo source: KYPE