Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is looking forward to facing Europa League opponents Rubin Kazan.

Pavlyuchenko hopes to take part against the Russians tonight.

"When I was young, Rubin were only a small team and never played in the top divisions," explained the Russian international to the Spurs website. "They didn't shine in our country then, but in recent years they have achieved great things and are now one of the biggest teams in Russia.

"Maybe in England people don't know too much about them, but they are a very well-known team in Europe. They regularly qualify for the Champions League and a couple of years ago they beat Barcelona in the Nou Camp.

"They have a very good head coach in Kurban Berdyev who has built the team up since he arrived at the club.

"He has concentrated on a strong defence and encouraged a lot of top players to join the club, making them a difficult side to beat.

"It is difficult to pick out which of their players we should watch out for because they have so many good ones who can cause us problems. Many of them are my friends from the national side and I know them well.

"One of the keys to their success is that they play as a team with great spirit rather than as a group of individuals."