Real Madrid

Luzhniki Stadium will house Tuesday's 18:00 CET Last 16 UCL match between CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid. Located at the south of the Russian capital, the stadium has capacity for a crowd 84,500 strong and is one of the main sports facilities in the country. It has FieldTurf artificial grass and also boasts underground heating to fight against the cold. UEFA deemed it an elite stadium and it was the chosen venue for Champions League and Europa League finals, and the 1980 Olympic Games. Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mourinho and Karanka are the only ones in the Madridista expedition who have already played there.

It is expected to snow tomorrow and for the temperature to be -5ºC. The cold wave that made temperatures drop to -30º two weeks ago has already left Moscow, but it will still be colder than in most football games, which is why the stadium has such state-of-the-art technology to counter it.

FieldTurf is regarded as the most advanced synthetic grass because it is the best at mimicking natural grass biomechanics. Luzhniki was the first stadium with artificial grass to house a European championship match (UEFA Cup Torpedo Moscow-Villarreal match back in 2003). Despite having FieldTurf and and excellent underground heating, perfect conditions cannot be guaranteed in extreme temperatures, as in the Europa League clash between Lokomotiv and Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League with Manchester United against Chelsea at the stadium in 2008, while Jose Mourinho reached the 2009/10 UCL semifinals against CSKA Moscow there, going on to win the title with Inter Milan later in the season. Assistant coach Aitor Karanka and Casillas were part of the Real Madrid squad that faced Spartak Moscow in the 2000/01 UCL.

The stadium was opened in 1956 as the Central Lenin Stadium, and it has since been a leading European venue. It held the inuagural ceremony of the 1980 Olympic Games and was remodelled at the end of the 1990s, renamed as the district it's in: Luzhniki. It has already housed the 1999 UEFA Cup Marseille-Parma final, the 2008 UCL Manchester United-Chelsea final, and it is set to be the venue for the 2018 World Cup final.