Krylia Sovetov Samara (15) vs (14) FC Orenburg

18:30 MSK, Friday 28 February, Samara Arena

A relegation battle between Krylia Sovetov and FC Orenburg kicks off the spring part of the Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga season with one point separating the two. Krylia Sovetov have lost top goalscorer Aleksandr Sobolev - who scored half of their 20 goals so far this campaign - to Spartak Moscow on loan, and they have lost five of their last six league matches.

FC Orenburg have only lost once away from home in the Tinkoff RPL since August, although they have also failed to keep a single clean sheet on the road all season. Only FC Rostov have conceded more goals on their travels. They are also slow starters - Rubin Kazan are the only other side to have scored fewer first-half goals so far this season.

Top Transfers

Krylia Sovetov
IN: Safaa Hadi (Al Shorta SC - Iraq), Mehdi Zeffane (free agent), Maksim Glushekov (Spartak Moscow, loan)
OUT: Aleksandr Sobolev (Spartak, loan)

FC Orenburg
IN: Islambek Kuat (Kairat - Kazakhstan), Mamadou Sylla (KAA Gent - Belgium, loan), Kirill Kaplenko (Zenit II, loan)
OUT: Nikita Malyarov (released)

CSKA Moscow (4) vs (9) Ural Ekaterinburg

14:00 MSK, Saturday 29 February, VEB Arena

CSKA Moscow had a very successful winter training schedule, winning 10 of their 12 matches, although they did lose to Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga leaders Zenit St. Petersburg. Alan Dzagoev and Viktor Vasin both had some minutes after injuries earlier in the season. In domestic action they have only won two of their last eight Tinkoff RPL matches and have scored just twice in their last four home matches.

FC Ural restart the season with three consecutive away matches, a run that also includes a trip to face Zenit at the Gazprom Arena. Although they have won just two of their last 10 Tinkoff RPL matches and have still conceded the most goals in the league with 31 in 19 matches, they are unbeaten away from home since August. When it comes to facing CSKA Moscow though, they have a poor record: no wins and just two draws from 13 meetings, while they have lost 4-0 twice in their last three visits.

Top Transfers

CSKA
IN: Ilya Shkurin (Dynamo Brest - Belarus), Nikita Kotin (Krylia Sovetov)
OUT: Dmitriy Efremov (FC Ural, free), Takuma Nishimura (Portimonense - Portugal, loan)

FC Ural
IN: Dmitriy Efremov (CSKA), Maciej Wilusz (FC Rostov), Nikolay Zolotov (FC Vitebsk - Belarus), Igor Kalinin (Dynamo Moscow, loan)
OUT: Vladimir Ilyin (Akhmat Grozny)

Dynamo Moscow (8) vs (10) Spartak Moscow

16:30 MSK, Saturday 29 February, VTB Arena

The historic Moscow derby is one of the main highlights of the opening weekend of the spring season in the Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga, with both sides performing below their ambitions. Even despite Maximilian Philip’s strong form just before the winter break began - the German forward scored four goals in his side’s last three league games - only two sides have scored fewer goals overall. To address this, they have brought in Russian international Nikolay Komlichenko.

Spartak Moscow lifted the Match Premier Cup in Qatar in a light winter schedule that saw them play just five friendly matches. Although Lokomotiv Moscow beat them on penalties at the Aspire Academy, they didn’t lose any of those five games inside 90 minutes. When it comes to Tinkoff RPL form, however, they haven’t fared so well; since August they have only won two league games, and just once away from home.

Where they have a psychological edge is in the direct head-to-head record against their traditional rivals. They have won six of their last seven fixtures away to Dynamo. In fact, they haven’t lost as visitors in this clash as visitors in over a decade.

Top Transfers

Dynamo Moscow
IN: Nikolay Komlichenko (Mlada Boleslav - Czech Republic), Dmitry Skopintsev (FC Krasnodar)
OUT: Ramil Sheydaev (Sabah FK - Azerbaijan), Miguel Cardoso (FC Tambov, loan)

Spartak Moscow
IN: Aleksandr Sobolev (Krylia Sovetov, loan)
OUT: Jano Ananidze (Anorthosis - Cyprus), Maksim Glushenkov (Krylia Sovetov, loan)

Zenit St. Petersburg (1) vs (5) Lokomotiv Moscow

19:00 MSK, Saturday 29 February, Gazprom Arena

Ten points clear with 11 games to go is a commanding position for reigning champions Zenit St. Petersburg to take into matchday 20 of the Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga. Not only is the title theirs to lose, they are boosted by the return to fitness of club record signing Malcom and the return of Emiliano Rigoni from his loan spell at Sampdoria.

Everywhere one looks the picture looks bright for Sergey Semak’s men; 36 goals and only one defeat in 10 winter training friendlies, seven wins from their last eight league games, and only two points dropped since August.

Although Lokomotiv Moscow are only outside the Champions League places on head-to-head record, they have struggled of late in Tinkoff RPL action. One win in their last six league games is not the form of title challengers, not is the fact that they have only kept one clean sheet in their last five games on the road. Even winter friendlies only yielded three wins from eight, and to top it off Fedor Smolov has left on loan.

All is not lost, however. In recent trips to St. Petersburg Lokomotiv have been fearless, scoring three goals in both of their last two league visits. There have been at least three goals in three of Lokomotiv’s last five away games, with Zenit averaging over three goals across their last six Tinkoff RPL games.

Top Transfers

Zenit St. Petersburg
IN: Emiliano Rigoni (Sampdoria, loan ended)
OUT: Matias Kranevitter (Monterrey - Mexico), Robert Mak (Konyespor - Turkey), Aleksandr Kokorin (FC Sochi, loan)

Lokomotiv Moscow
IN: None
OUT: Fedor Smolov (Celta Vigo - Spain, loan)

Akhmat Grozny (12) vs (3) FC Rostov

19:00 MSK, Saturday 29 February, Akhmat Arena

Before Igor Shalimov took over at Akhmat Grozny, they had lost six of their 11 Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga matches. In the last eight since he took the reins, they’ve only lost twice. In one sense that is progress. They have struggled to score - 13 in 19 league games is the second-lowest tally - and to this end they have brought in Felipe Vizeu and Vladimir Ilyin to boost their forward options. Ravanelli is also back from injury.

Despite FC Rostov’s high-flying position they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 away matches in the Tinkoff RPL. Add to that the fact that top goalscorer Eldor Shomurodov has scored none in their last seven after bagging 10 in their first 11, and the fact that FC Rostov have won just once in their last 11 visits to Grozny, and this tricky away trip becomes a little more ominous for them.

Top Transfers

Akhmat Grozny
IN: Felipe Vizeu (Udinese - Italy, loan), Vladimir Ilyin (FC Ural), Miroslav Bogosavac (Cukaricki - Serbia), Maksim Nenakhov (Rotor Volgograd)
OUT: Damian Szymanski (AEK Athens - Greece, loan), Konrad Michalak (Ankaragucu - Turkey, loan), Mikhail Gashchenkov (SKA Khabarovsk, loan)

FC Rostov
IN: Maksim Osipenko (FC Tambov), Maksim Rudakov (Zenit St. Petersburg)
OUT: Ragnar Sigurdsson (FC Copenhagen - Denmark), Maciej Wilusz (Ural Ekaterinburg), Bjorn Sigurdarsson (APOEL Nicosia - Cyprus), Vidar Kjartansson (Malatyaspor - Turkey)

FC Tambov vs Rubin Kazan

14:00 MSK, Sunday 1 March, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium

FC Tambov will now play in Nizhny Novgorod while their stadium renovations are completed after spending the first part of the season playing home games in Saransk. No team have lost more home games than they have, but a late burst of spectacular form - they average two goals scored per game across their last five home league matches - shot them out of the relegation zone. Only Zenit St. Petersburg have won more games in the last six matchdays.

Leonid Slutskiy headlines a new-look Rubin Kazan after returning to his homeland in December. He has been backed by eight signings, including Russia under-21 international Ivan Ignatyev, Darko Jevtic and Oliver Abildgaard, to boost their bid to get out of the relegation playoff zone. There is work to do with Rubin winless in seven Tinkoff RPL matches.

Top Transfers

FC Tambov
IN: Miguel Cardoso (Dynamo Moscow, loan), Oleksandr Kaplienko (Dinamo Tblisi - Georgia), Igor Yurganov (FC Sochi, loan)
OUT: Maksim Osipenko (FC Rostov), Benito (Dynamo Kyiv - Ukraine), Vladislav Kulik (FC Chaika)

Rubin Kazan
IN: Ivan Ignatyev (FC Krasnodar), Darko Jevtic (Lech Poznan - Poland), Soltmurad Bakaev (Spartak Moscow), Oliver Abildgaard (Aalborg BK - Denmark, loan), Pablo Santos (Braga - Portugal, loan), Dmitriy Tarasov (free agent)
OUT: Evgeniy Bashkirov (Zaglebie Lubin - Poland), Vitaliy Denisov (Rotor Volgograd), Egor Sorokin (FC Krasnodar, loan ended)

FC Krasnodar (2) vs (7) FC Ufa

16:30 MSK, Sunday 1 March, Krasnodar Stadium 

After the heartache of being knocked out at the final hurdle in Champions League qualification, FC Krasnodar have had to endure a raft of injuries this season. They remain on course for a direct route to next season’s group stages of Europe’s premier competition in second place but will need to address the run of dropped points before the winter break - they drew six of their last seven games in the Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga.

There is no question where FC Ufa’s strength lies. They boast the second-best defensive record in the Tinkoff RPL with 17 goals conceded in 19 games and have kept five clean sheets in their last six away league games. At the other end, however, they struggle; only Akhmat Grozny and Rubin Kazan have scored fewer goals overall, while their tally of just four on the road is the lowest of all.

Top Transfers

FC Krasnodar
IN: Egor Sorokin (Rubin Kazan, loan ended)
OUT: Cristian Cueva (Santos - Brazil), Ivan Ignatyev (Rubin Kazan), Dmitriy Skopintsev (Dynamo Moscow), Younes Namli (Colorado Rapids, loan)

FC Ufa
IN: Oston Urunov (Lokomotiv Tashkent - Uzbekistan), Gamid Agalarov (Anzhi Makhachkala)
OUT: None

FC Sochi (16) vs (6) Arsenal Tula

19:00 MSK, Sunday 1 March, Fisht Olympic Stadium

Not only has Vladimir Fedotov taken over FC Sochi, but Zenit St. Petersburg forward Aleksandr Kokorin and France FIFA World Cup winner Adil Rami have also joined the Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga’s bottom club. No wins in seven league matches have seen them drop to the foot of the table and four points from safety.

Arsenal Tula finished strongly before the winter break, beating Moscow sides Spartak, Lokomotiv and CSKA in the last five matches, lifting them up to the cusp of European qualification places. Although they are unbeaten in their last three away matches, they haven’t scored more than one goal in an away game since last July.

Top Transfers

FC Sochi
IN: Adil Rami (Fenerbahce - Turkey), Aleksandr Kokorin (Zenit St. Petersburg, loan)
OUT: Fedor Kudryashov (Antalyaspor), Evgeniy Frolov (Krylia Sovetov Samara)

Arsenal Tula
IN: Yuriy Kovalev (Soligorsk - Belarus), Valeriy Gromyko (Soligorsk - Belarus), Yuriy Lodygin (free agent)
OUT: Alexandru Tudorie (FC Voluntari - Romania), Aleksandr Dovbnya (Rotor Volgograd)