They meet in the 19th round

The tournament table after 18 rounds

Will Spartak get closer to CSKA

The central match of the Tinkoff - Russian Premier League tour (RPL) Spartak - CSKA has an important tournament value.

Now the Red-Whites are seven points behind the Red-Blues. In case of failure, the gap will increase to 10. Then Spartak will actually say goodbye to hopes to catch up with the Army Men, win medals and qualify for the European Cups following the results of the RPL championship. CSKA is in fourth place and is fighting for awards.

Of particular interest to the match is the fact that Spartak will enter the field for the first time in an official game under the leadership of the new head coach Paolo Vanoli. In control matches led by the Italian, the Muscovites did not lose a single time, having won three and drawn four times.

However, these results do not yet say absolutely nothing. Firstly, the heat in friendly matches is not as high as in championship games, and coaches mostly solve strategic problems, specifically, to prepare the team for official games. Secondly, Spartak's rivals did not reach the leading RPL teams in terms of level. The most serious opponents were the Slovak champion Slovan, who did not qualify for the Champions League and the Europa League in the summer, and the 11th RPL team Ural.

Personally for Vanoli, the match is important because, if he wins, he will immediately win the favor of the fans and receive a “credit of trust” from them.

Of course, it is interesting to look at the newcomers of both teams. At Spartak, among them are the Russian and Luxembourg midfielders Daniil Khlusevich (moved from the Tula Arsenal) and Christopher Pereira (Young Boys, Switzerland), as well as the Jamaican forward Shamar Nicholson (Charleroi, Belgium). CSKA has midfielders from Turkey, Côte d'Ivoire and Colombia Yusuf Yazici (Lille, France), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Everton, England) and Jorge Carrascal (River Plate, Argentina).

CSKA has not won away from Spartak for almost three years - since April 2019. After that - two defeats in the RPL and one in the Russian Cup.

Now the teams' chances of success are equal. For "Spartak" his field, additional motivation in connection with the first match of Vanoli. But in CSKA the personnel situation is more stable. The team was preparing for the resumption of the championship with the former coach Alexei Berezutsky.

Will Zenit extend its unbeaten streak

Zenit hasn't lost in the RPL since October 16 last year. In the last seven matches, the team has four wins and three draws. This is the longest unbeaten streak. But the position of St. Petersburg is not at all cloudless - Dynamo is only two points away.

The team of Sergei Semak, of course, is the favorite of the home game against Rubin. The point is, first of all, in the class, which is obviously higher in Zenit. Also, the St. Petersburg team has already played two official matches in the Europa League with Betis (2:3, 0:0), that is, they have gained a certain sports shape.

On the other hand, Rubin quite regularly takes points from Zenit. For example, out of the last eight matches, the Petersburgers won only four, three more (two away) were won by Kazan. One meeting ended in a draw.

Do not forget that "Zenith" is experiencing problems in defense. Goalkeeper Stanislav Krytsyuk after an injury works on an individual program. Mikhail Kerzhakov made mistakes in the first game against Betis. As a result, in the second meeting, 19-year-old Daniil Odoevsky took the place at the gate. Croatian Dejan Lovren (injury) is not in the center of defense, and Ukrainian Yaroslav Rakytskyy remained in reserve in Spain due to the fact that, as Semak said, he is playing below his level. “He needs to get in shape,” the coach added.

Will Khimki beat Dynamo

In 2020, Sergey Yuran, together with Khimki, reached the RPL and the final of the Russian Cup, but even before the start of the next championship, he left the Moscow Region club with a scandal, declaring his intention to apply at UEFA.

Yuran returned to Khimki a few days ago, on February 23rd. He replaced Igor Cherevchenko, who was fired from the club for the second time this season. This happened for the first time in October, but three weeks later the coach was returned.

Now, according to Khimki CEO Vladimir Gabulov, the team needed a "new emotional outburst".

Well, it is due to him that Khimki can take three points from the closest pursuer Zenit. As it was, for example, in September 2020, when the players from the Moscow Region won the very first match under the leadership of the new coach Cherevchenko, defeating Dynamo. The change of coach contributes to the shake-up of the team. Especially if the new coach is as emotional as Juran.

In general, Khimki, after returning to the RPL, plays successfully with Dynamo - two wins in three matches.

Will Sochi continue to remain in the top three

Sochi had an unsuccessful end to the first part of the championship. The team played a draw with Ural on the road, lost at home to Rubin and Krasnodar, and also won due to luck, playing weakly, Spartak. Thanks to that victory, the Sochi team retained the third line of the table, although they could have dropped to sixth. The winter break came in handy for Sochi.

In the first "spring" match of the championship, Sochi will play with Arsenal, which is three points away from the relegation zone. Sochi won the last two matches against Tula and have good chances to win again. In this situation, given the skipping of the tour by Krasnodar and Lokomotiv, as well as the difficult match of CSKA, Sochi can, at least for a while, gain a foothold in third position.

Also in the 19th round will meet "Nizhny Novgorod" - "Ural" and "Akhmat" - "Ufa". The Rostov-Krylya Sovetov and Krasnodar-Lokomotiv matches have been postponed due to airport closures.

bbabo.Net