CSKA have already secured a place in spring's play-off stages after convincing victories over Deportivo, Feyenoord, and Lech Poznan. A point will be enough to ensure that they finish top of the group. The teams who take first place in their respective groups will face third-placed sides when the draw for the play-offs is made in Switzerland on December 19.
The top three teams qualify from the five-team groups and the second-placed sides will face clubs dropping down from the Champions League, including Zenit St. Petersburg.
The match will be CSKA's last of the season, and the 2005 UEFA Cup winner's manager Valery Gazzayev is expected to announce before the game that he has reversed his decision to quit the club.
Gazzayev, the only Russian trainer to lift a major European club trophy, stated in the summer that he would leave CSKA at the end of the season, citing tiredness. However, the side were going through a bad patch at that stage, and since then have made exceptional progress, finishing second in the domestic league and earning a 2009/10 Champions League group place.
This will not be the first time that Gazzayev has gone back on his word. He earlier pledged to shave off his distinctive drooping moustache should CSKA win the UEFA Cup. However, after the team had defeated Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in the 2005 final, he announced that he would only do so in the event of the side triumphing in the Champions League.
"I don't feel any particular emotions before the game," the CSKA trainer told French paper L'Equipe. "This is the last game for the side this season and doesn't decide anything. However, our players are motivated. We will be playing for club prestige and we respect our opponents."
Nancy vs CSKA kicks off at 8:45 local time (10:45 p.m. Moscow time) and will be shown live on Russia's Sport channel.
