Here's a rundown of Anji's recent form and the key statistics ahead of tonight's Europa League showdown at the Lane.
The Russian team will join us in the knockout phase of the competition after securing second place in Group K with a draw against FC Sheriff last time out.
Form guide
Anji may have enjoyed a successful qualifying campaign in the Europa League, but it's a different story domestically. Anji are bottom of the Russia Premier League and have yet to win in 19 league matches so far this season, eight draws and 11 defeats.
A closer look
Anji have only won two of their 25 matches in all competitions this season (10 draws, 13 defeats) and both wins came in the Europa League group stage against Tromso, 1-0 home and away. They have failed to score in their last seven Russian Premier League matches and in 10 of their 19 league games. Anji have only scored three goals (all single strikes) in their last 10 games in all competitions - all in the Europa League.
Since we last met
We beat Anji 2-0 in October, and that was followed by a run of five straight league defeats. In-between, they beat Tromso home and away and drew against FC Sheriff in the Europa League. Anji have drawn three and lost one of their last four games in all competitions.
Last time out
Anji drew 0-0 against Kuban Krasnodar on Saturday.
Anji's recent history
Anji's profile rocketed around the football world when Suleyman Kerimov took over in January, 2011 and the club signed the likes of Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto'o, Lassana Diarra, Yuri Zhirkov and Christopher Samba. The club finished 5th in 2011-12 and therefore qualified for the 2012-13 Europa League where they reached the round of 16 stage before losing 1-0 on aggregate to Saudi Sportswashing Machine. Last season they finished 3rd in the Russian Premier League under Guus Hiddink again qualifying for the Europa League. However, after drastic cuts to their budget ahead of the current season, many top players were sold and Head Coach Guus Hiddink resigned.
Anji's Euro form
Anji have only lost one of their 11 home European ties (won eight, drew two) – that was against us back on October 3. They have beaten the likes of Liverpool, Hannover 96, Udinese, Vitesse, AZ Alkmaar, Honved, Young Boys and Tromso in those matches.
Our Euro form
We have won the last seven Europa League matches – this is our longest winning streak in Europe since winning eight in a row during the 2006-07 UEFA Cup. That season we reached the QF before losing 4-3 on aggregate to Sevilla. Eight straight wins in Europe is our club record, which can be equalled tonight.
Keeping it clean
We have kept six clean-sheets so far in Europe this season in seven matches. We last kept six clean-sheets in a single season in Europe in 1983-84 when we won the UEFA Cup (12 matches). We have never kept more than six in a European season (also kept six in 1971-72 when we also won the UEFA Cup – 12 matches).
Defensive record
We have the joint best defensive record in the Europa League group stage with Bulgarian team Ludogorets Razgrad (each conceded one goal). Lodogorets travel to Dinamo Zagreb in their final group game.
100 per centers
We are one of two teams with a 100% winning record in this season’s group stages – also Austrian team FC Salzburg. They face Danish side Esbjerg at home in their final group game.
Azza's half-century
If Aaron Lennon features tonight, it will be his 50th appearance in Europe for us - only legendary former skipper Steve Perryman (64) has more.
Hitting the target
We have scored in our last 14 Europa League matches and hit 33 in the last 14.
Home sweet home
We are unbeaten in our last nine EL matches and lost just one of the last 13 at the Lane. We've scored 21 goals in our last eight EL matches in N17