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After a not so long break ROSGOSSTRAKH Russian Football Championship kicks-off the season 2016-2017. 16 clubs will carry on competition for the champion title, which will be over in May of next year.

For almost two months the teams renewed their squads and are ready for the start of the season. However, they still have a chance to get stronger till 31 August – on this date the first registration period will be over.

The previous season was remarkable due to its intrigue in the competition for the title and prize-winning places, which was kept till the very last matchday. And we had so many surprises! Rostov as the runners-up, relegation of Dynamo to FNL, competition for UEFA Europa League place between Spartak and Lokomotiv, real fight for survival with participation of a large group of clubs… That’s what we shall remember from ROSGOSSTRAKH Russian Football Championship of season 2015-2016.

The time will show what the current tournament will bring to us. But even now we can say that the competition in the tournament table is expected to be uneasy and tough. So we invite all supporters to the stadia! Your clubs need your support!

Zenit - Lokomotiv
30.07.2016 17:30, Petrovskiy, St.Petersburg

Referee: Alexander Egorov (Saransk)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +13=18-11 (48-48)
Last season: 0:2,1:1

ROSGOSSTRAKH Russian Football Championship season 2016-2017 kicks-off with the match in St.Petersburg where Zenit and Lokomotiv will be playing. After the failure in the previous season, when the club from the Neva riverbanks guided by Andre Villas-Boas finished on the third position. The place of the Portuguese is now occupied by the famous Romanian specialist - Mircea Lucescu. Hulk, who was the team leader for many years, left the club. Axel Witsel might leave as well before transfer window in Europe is closed. However Zenit has a lot of players in the squad. Besides, two midfields came to the team - Giuliano and Robert Mak.

Renovated Zenit already managed to win its first trophy - OLYMP Super Cup of Russia, after beating PFC CSKA - 1:0. It is evident that the club hopes to extend this collection at the end of the season.

However, the following players will not be able to help the team from St.Petersburg in the kick-off match: Witsel, Dzyuba, Lombaerts, Mak, Giuliano.

Lokomotiv has more stability. Igor Cherevchenko continues working with the team, the main squad has been kept. But two young players - Zhemaletdinov and Makhatadze - left for Rubin. As for strengthening the club, we should wait for the end of the transfer window.

The latest win of Lokomotiv over Zenit away is dated 17 July 2004.

Anji - PFC CSKA
30.07.2016 20:00, Anji Arena, Kaspiisk

Referee: Vitaly Meshkov (Dmitrov)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +4=4-10 (16-31)
Last season: 0:1,1:1

The current title holder PFC CSKA will start defending its Champions title in Makhachkala against the local Anji. It is worth mentioning that the club from the capital does not play very well in Dagestan - the Army team won only three times over nine matches, they also made two draws and lost four times.

During the summer break Anji had a lot of essential changes. Pavel Vrba, who was coaching the team of Czech Republic at UEFA EURO 2016, became the Head Coach of the team. Two strong goalkeepers came to the team - Belenov and Yurchenko. Bordeaux defender Yambere came on a loan, Rabiu, Karetnik and Georgievskiy came to the midfield line, and Budkivskiy to the attacking. What result it will bring, we shall know during the season.

PFC CSKA has less changes. As for the key players, only Musa left the team and went to Leicester. The Army team loaned Traore from Monaco to his position, we all remember him for his performance in the Premier League. But there is still almost one month till the end of the transfer window, so changes are possible in all clubs of the RFPL.

As for the tasks of PFC CSKA for the season, naturally, it is the competition to keep the title.

Rostov - Orenburg
30.07.2016 21:30, Olymp-2, Rostov-on-Don

Referee: Alexey Nikolaev (Moscow)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: did not play
Last season: did not play

The main success of the previous season - Rostov - settled the key task during off-season: kept the coaches and key players. But a lot of gossips were heard that Kurban Berdyev will leave the club from the Don, but he stayed. So Rostov fans are quite happy about that. However the situation with Azmoun, who is Rostov player for the moment, is unclear. But FIFA will issue the final decision in this case.

It is evident that it will be quite uneasy for Rostov to keep the gained position in the leading group. The team is going to have absolutely different spirit, and, according to Kurban Berdyev, the team has not solved all selection problems.

The current season will be a serious test for Orenburg. Whether the team will be able to keep its position in the Premier League or will return to FNL? But in any case, this upgrade in the class has already brought a lot of good  - a new stadium will be built in the town, and the old one is being modernized according to the requirements of the Premier League. The staff in Orenburg was not able to finish all works by the kick-off match, so the game will be held in Rostov-on-Don.

Ural - Ufa
31.07.2016 15:30, SKB-Bank Arena, Ekaterinburg

Referee: Sergey Ivanov (Rostov-on-Don)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +3=1-0 (4-1)
Last season: 1:0,1:0

Ural is hosting Ufa in Ekaterinburg. The match of this neighbours can be considered as derby. One more important event is Viktor Gancharenko, who is going to play against his ex-club being the Head Coach of Ufa.

Ural had may changes in its squad. Gogniev, Sapeta, Acevedo, Manucharyan and some other players left the team. They were replaced by Pavlyuchenko, Bougouhi, Dinga, Chanturia, Zhukov and Pavlenko.

Last season Ural kept its solid place in the middle of the tournament table. This year it will try to perform at least as well.

Ufa has had some renovations in the squad. A big group of players left the team, including Zinchenko, who moved to Manchester City. Katsalapov, Handjic, Yurchenko, Osipov, Narubin, Paurevic and Frimpong left the team. They were replaced by Abdulavov, Zhivoglyadov, Vanĕk, Batyutin and Vasin on a loan from PFC CSKA.

Ufa expects to play at least much better than in the previous season.

Spartak - Arsenal
31.07.2016 18:00, Otkrytie Arena, Moscow

Referee: Кirill Levnikov (St.Petersburg)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +1=0-1 (2-1)
Last season: did not play

Spartak Moscow will do its best to return to the leading group of the Russian football. Whether they succeed or not, we shall be able to see only at the end of the season. We should not forget that after a short interval Spartak returned to European Cups, and that means that the leaders will have more to bear.

Spartak noticeably strengthened its squad - midfield Fernando came to te team, as well as experienced player of defensive line Eschenko and potential player of midfield line Zobnin. A number of players returned from loan. But there are some losses as well, Zotov and Bryzgalov left the main squad, as well as a group of players which were not among the first eleven. Some new arrivals are also possible. If they manage to support the squad, the team will be able to reach the highest goals.

 Arsenal has much more moderate aims for the season. At first, it would be good to get a stable position in the Premier League. But the players of Sergey Pavlov will have to do  a lot of thorough work.

A group of experienced players came to the team, so the coaches will have someone to count on.

Terek - Krylia Sovetov
31.07.2016   20:30, Ahmat Arena, Grozny

Referee: Alexey Eskov (Мoscow)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +8=4-6 (26-20)
Last season: 2:0, 0:1

Terek is hosting Krylia Sovetov at Ahmat Arena. The club from Grozny has the aim to get to the European Cups zone at the end of the season. The following players left the team: Kanu, Rybus, Aissati, Ojala and Komorowski. The following players came: Roshi, Torje, Balaj and Bryzgalov. It will be a tough game for Krylia Sovetov, as the team from Groznyi played quite successfully in the previous season.

Krylia Sovetov had problems with the attacking line in the previous season, but its defense proved to be very solid. A big group of players left the club during the summer break. Bruno and Tkachev are loaned, Bashkirov and Bateau are purchased. Some new arrivals are still possible. It is evident that Terek is the favourite in this game, but two recent matches in Grozny brought win to Krylia Sovetov.

Rubin - Amkar
01.08.2016 19:30, Centralny, Kazan

Referee: Mikhail Vilkov (Nizhny Novgorod)
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +10=9-5 (31-20)
Last season: 0:2, 2:1

Rubin enters the new season with a new Head Coach and a new logo. Spaniard Javi Gracia already announced that the team will be able to solve the most serious tasks. And Rubin is more active than the others at the transfer market.

Defenders Bauer, Sergio Sanchez, Zambrano, midfields Makhatadze, Samuel Garcia, forwards Rochina, Lestienne, Zhemaletdinov will continue their careers in Kazan. The only problem - there are a lot of foreign players, so the competition among them will be very strong. The team for sure will need some time to fix the internal links, so some problems at the start are quite possible.

Amkar managed to support its attacking line. Now two foreign forwards are with the squad of Gadzhi Gadzhiev - Bodul and Shinder. African Conde and Milkovic came to the defense. The club from Perm has already proved that it does not give up easily. But we shall see the capabilities of the renovated Amkar during the season.

Krasnodar - Tom
01.08.2016 19:30, Kuban, Krasnodar

Referee: Igor Fedotov (Мoscow)
Suspended: Kabore - none
Balance of the matches in the top division of the Russian Championship: +3=3-0 (14-4)
Last season: did not play

Last season Krasnodar was only one step from the medals. The club administration confirmed that the club was not in a very good condition last season, but let's hope that won't be like that in the current season.

Midfield Izmaylov came to the team of Oleg Kononov, rights for Kabore and Kritsyuk were purchased, Martynovich and Jędrzejczyk returned back from the loan.

Krasnodar is one of the favourites of the current season. However the team will have to play in two competitions. But it is not the first year the team plays like that.

Under the guidance of Valery Petrakov Tom changed during the summer. Experienced Dyakov, Manolev, Kochenkov, K.Kombarov, Samodin, Dudiev came to Tom. New foreign players came as well: Puljic, Droppa, Bicfalvi. It is evident that the main task for Tom is to keep its position in the Premier League. After several MDs it will be clear what we can expect from Tom players.

Russian Football Premier League and European Legal Service within the frames of joint programme – “Stadium is our Home!”is happy to announce about an opportunity to call to this company (tel: +7 (495) 727 09 01 or Skype online.els24.com) and to receive free legal advice related to any legal matter before, during and after the game.

Lawyers of European Legal Service, which is the leader on the market of distance services, will always help you in solving all your legal matters.

When applying there you should tell the password: “I am an RFPL supporter”.

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