Torpedo Moscow are a bit of a mystery side to most in England, but it is clear they are a tricky proposition.

The club was formed in 1926 as Proletarskaya Kuznitsa, but have been called Torpedo since 1936. During the Soviet era clubs were connected to other organisations within society. Torpedo was connected to something called the Zil plant. They also boast of the their past. During the fifties they had they had Eduard Streltsov, the Russian Pele, playing for them. Strelsov was asked to playfor teh Army team (CSKA) or the KGB team (Dynamo) but refused. He missed the 1958 World Cup as he was in Siberia as a consequence.

They are probably best loved in Britain for beating Manchester United in the UEFA Cup in the early nineties.

They have two grounds, the enormous 88,000 capacity Luzhniki or Olympic Stadium and Torpedo which seats 16,500. We imagine our game will be at the Luzhniki which was reconstructed in 1997. It is amongst the most impressive stadia in Europe. Town will get at least 5% of the capacity under UEFA regulations.

They are currently sixth in the Russian league and wear a strip much like our away kit.

With visas required for Russia it looks like an expensive trip for our first European adventure since 1982.

Photo: Action Images

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