I was dreading Kazan because of the long trip

"We've had an awful lot of games lately and I simply thought it'd be nice to play someone who's a bit closer to us for once. Unfortunately, that did not work out, although we are lucky to be playing the first leg at home as we're going to be on an incredibly tight schedule during the week prior to the game. We're playing Southampton on Saturday, 30 March, FA Cup replay against Manchester United the Monday after that and finally Europa League on Thursday. Had we had to fly all the way to Kazan on top of that we would have lost a lot of precious regeneration time," said Petr.
He found out about the draw results after training. "Kazan is a dangerous opponent with lots of internationals in the squad. Lately they've either been in the Champions or Europa League so they've gathered a substantial amount of experience. We're about to face a tough team but you obviously can't be picky at this stage. Being the incumbent Champions League title holders, we're the favourites of this match, just as we would have been in relation toward any of the other opponents. We will definitely do our best to live up to those expectations and advance further."