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If the Army-Men are to have any hope in advancing to the next stage of tournament they will need to come out victorious against Armin Veh's side.
For the Bundesliga champions it has been a far from satisfying start to the defence of their first title. Nestled mid-table in domestic competition, "die Wölfe" have lost much of their attacking edge that was so evident last year and their once home fortress of Volkswagen Arena has disappeared, including last Saturday's loss to FC Nuremberg.
Along with the ongoing rumours of pending departures of Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović, as well as Grafite and Slovakian international Peter Pekarík, things are far from perfect for the German side.
Though they will be without striker Grafite to suspension and Jonathan Santana, Wolfsburg is however bolstered with the knowledge that a draw in Moscow will greatly reverse the difficult year with a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League.
CSKA enters the match riding a wave of confidence under Leonid Slutsky. Against Spartak they displayed a passion to fight back that has been missing this year under both Zico and Juande Ramos. As per the norm, Serbian international Miloš Krasić has been a spark plug in the Army-Men's attack and under the new manager, Alan Dzagoev has rightfully returned to a more central force in the attack where he is most effective.
On the injury front CSKA will be without key defender Deividas Šemberas to suspension as well as longer term absentees Mark González, Guilherme and Nika Piliev.
In many ways, the CSKA campaign is equally just starting, as under the guidance of Leonid Slutsky they are learning how to respond to adversity and play to their utmost ability.
Saturday's match against Spartak is testament to this, as CSKA looked like they were being run off the pitch early before digging in their heels and forging a dramatic comeback victory. Tactically they must summon the same courage as they did against Spartak and attack ruthlessly if they are to come out with a victory on Wednesday evening.
Prepared by John Davies
