Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Malaga: Lineups

It’s a good thing for Zenit St. Petersburg that Malaga has already qualified for the knockout stages of Champions League, because the Spanish side is resting half of their first choice team. While their lineup isn’t exactly a joke, it’s far from their best, and Luciano Spalletti will expect his team to come away with a victory at home. Nicolas Lombaerts and Hulk return to the Zenit lineup after recovering from injuries, while Viktor Fayzulin misses out on the starting XI. Danny has finally returned from nearly an entire year off.

Zenit St. Petersburg starting lineup (4-3-3): Vyacheslav Malafeev; Tomas Hubocan, Nicolas Lombaerts, Bruno Alves, Aleksandr Anyukov; Igor Denisov, Roman Shirokov, Axel Witsel; Danny, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Hulk

Without Nacho Monreal available, Malaga are sticking with winger Eliseu at left back, which should simultaneously make them dangerous and vulnerable down that flank. Look for Hulk to get a lot of the ball. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local, 12 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX Soccer.