Sergey Karasev: "Before the break, we want to please all St. Petersburg fans with a victory"

Zenit captain Sergey Karasev shared his expectations for the home game against UNICS, which will take place tomorrow, February 13, at the CSC Arena. The match against the team from Kazan is part of the 32nd round of the VTB United League regular season and will start at 20:00 St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available at tickets.bc-zenit.com.

— How has the preparation for the game against UNICS been? Have you managed to recover after the tough road trip to Perm?

— The preparation is going very well. We are analyzing our opponent and getting ready for a tough game. We know UNICS very well, and we are approaching this match with maximum seriousness. We are treating tomorrow's game as a kind of mini-final. Yes, we have managed to recover after the tough trip to Perm, we had time to rest and train well before facing UNICS. The team is in a fighting spirit, and everyone is in a very positive mood.

— What do you consider UNICS's strongest aspect?

— First of all, every player on their team is a fighter. They all battle, fight until the end and play very physically, aggressively — sometimes even on the edge, you could say even rough, but that's their style. The main thing is their one-on-one play and their performance in the post. These are probably Kazan’s biggest strengths.

— Does the fact that UNICS is on a 16-game winning streak put pressure on you, or does it motivate you instead?

— No, it doesn’t put pressure on us. In fact, it’s always great to play in big games like this, so all the guys are looking forward to tomorrow’s match. Plus, we are playing at home in front of our fans, so before the break, we really want to please all of St. Petersburg’s fans with a victory. Tomorrow, we will go out and fight, giving our best 100%.