<p style="text-align:justify"><strong><span>Spalletti talked about the fitness of Zenit St. Petersburg players ahead of the upcoming UEFA Champions League tie against SL Benfica.</span></strong><span> </span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>Zenit St. Petersburg head coach, Luciano Spalletti, has commented on the players' fitness, and shared his views on the upcoming UEFA Champions League clash against SL Benfica.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>Spalletti revealed that Zenit defender, Tomas Hubocan, and the Meshki goalkeeper, Vyacheslav Malafeev, have recovered from their respective injuries, and assured the fans of their availability in the remaining matches of
the season.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>The St. Petersburg’s club have extended Maksim Kanunnikov’s loan spell at FC Tom Tomsk; and Spalletti revealed that the Russian striker badly needed first team action. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>He praised Igor Cheminava, a product of their youth academy, admitting that the 20-year-old stopper has a bright future at the Petrovsky stadium. But at the same time, he admitted that Cheminava needs to work very hard.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>Spalletti expressed his views on Zenit reserve goalkeeper, Yuri Zhevnov, after giving him a deserved chance in a practice match.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>The former Udinese manager went on admit that Zhevnov deserves first team chances, and added that he could give Malafeev stiff competition for a starting role during the upcoming round.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>The Russian Cup winner went on to admit his interest in signing FC Akademiya Tolyatti shot-stopper, Artyom Leonov, and said:</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>“I am watching him - he's a talented guy who works hard. Personally, I'm interested in signing him. I will keep on watching him but these are premature conclusions."</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>Speaking on the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie against SL Benfica, the Italian manager revealed that they have been drawn against a tough opponent.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>He praised the Portuguese outfit and revealed that they deserve a lot of respect following their fabulous group stage performances. The Eagles are yet to lose a European clash this term.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>Spalletti hailed that the Portuguese outfit and revealed that Zenit will have to work very hard if they are to reach the quarter-finals of the continental tournament.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>However, he warned the Russian outfit against complacency and gave the example of Manchester United and Manchester City’s European elimination. Both the Manchester clubs were dumped to UEFA Europe League after finishing third
on their respective group tables.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span>“In pre-quarter-finals of the tournament, we cannot expect to play against weak teams. If you note that both the Manchester clubs flew out of the tournament, you could imagine the strength of Benfica. If you still believe
that Benfica are a weak team, it means that you live in another world.” Spalletti was quoted as saying.</span></p>
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