We have picked out the key features to look out for on matchday 16 in the Russian Premier Liga.

Europa Conference League showdown

After the latest cycle of UEFA club coefficient rankings saw Russia lose one place in European competitions, the fight for continental football became even fiercer. Now only the top four finishers in the Russian Premier Liga will qualify for a UEFA competition next season, with third and fourth place going to the inaugural UEFA Conference League. Before the season not many would have foreseen the pair battling it out for the last spot to be Rostov and Dynamo.

Valery Karpin’s side have proven to be a resilient side in the aftermath of losing a number of senior players this summer despite only managing to score 18 goals in the first half of the season. They are hot on the tails of Dynamo, sitting just one point behind, and have an impressive record against them having gone five home meetings unbeaten with clean sheets in the last four.

After Eldor Shomurodov’s departure to Genoa last month Rostov have struggled to find a key attacking threat. Kento Hashimoto is currently top goalscorer from midfield with five, but the next highest tally belongs to Khoren Bayrmyan with two, both of which were scored on the last matchday against Rubin Kazan. 

Dynamo are on a four-game unbeaten streak, including a derby draw against Spartak last weekend that was mere minutes from being a famous victory. They have conceded in all of their last five games in the RPL, and have only won once on the road in the last three and a half months.

Akhmat freight train rolls on

When your star man can have the confidence to dink a teasing panenka penalty to equalise against the reigning champions, you must be on the right track. Last weekend top goalscorer Bernard Berisha completed his second double in four RPL games in some style to keep Akhmat right in the chasing pack. If one includes Russian Cup results, then Akhmat would equal their longest competitive unbeaten run in over five years if they avoid defeat this weekend.

As the winter break approaches every point becomes more and more vital. Akhmat and Lokomotiv are tied on 24 points alongside Sochi, with only three points separating Dynamo in fourth and Lokomotiv in eighth. They both have the same number of wins, draws and losses, while even the goal difference is almost identical (+1 for Akhmat and 0 for Lokomotiv).

Before their meeting earlier this season - in which Akhmat edged a pulsating five-goal thriller while down to 10 men - Lokomotiv had gone eight matches unbeaten against their matchday 16 opponents. They are on an unusual run of form of late; just one win in their last eight in all competitions isn’t inspiring in itself, although it does include back-to-back draws against Atletico Madrid that have left Marko Nikolic and his men still within reach of the Champions League knockout stages.

If Akhmat have ambitions of returning to Europe for the first time since 2005, they will have to beat their previous best league finish to do so through the RPL route. Beating one of their direct rivals for fourth spot would be a perfect way to continue that dream.

Slutsky aims for CSKA double

Rubin Kazan continue to be something of an enigma this season. After an unproductive season in front of goal last time around, this campaign they have only been outscored by five other teams, while also conceding more than all but four sides. Head coach Leonid Slutsky has had to juggle injuries to his key attacking players in recent weeks as Djordje Despotovic, Ivan Ignatyev and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have all spent time on the sidelines, but he does have obvious extra motivation.

Back in August he claimed what was only his second win in 14 attempts against the club he led with distinction for many years, as Soltmurad Bakaev and Denis Makarov stunned the VEB Arena. His only previous win over the Armymen had come back in 2007 in charge of FC Moscow on matchday six, and before taking over at Rubin just under a year ago his sides had only managed to score five goals in 12 games against CSKA.

The odds of completing home and away wins over his old side are relatively slim though. CSKA have lost once in their last 11 fixtures as they sit atop the RPL table, while Rubin have lost two on the bounce to leave them down in 10th place. Carl Starfeldt and Kvaratskhelia have returned to first-team training after serving a period of quarantine, but they will need to breach the league’s tightest defence if they are to hand Slutsky his first double over CSKA.

Spartak defend 26-year record against Rotor

Since the formation of the Russian Federation, Rotor Volgograd have faced Spartak Moscow 27 times in the top flight with almost complete success. In all that time they have only lost three times, the most recent coming way back in 1996. To make it even more stark, they have just one loss to their name in this fixture in the capital.

The narrow Spartak win in Volgograd earlier this season was more of an exception than the rule between these two sides. In the last 18 league games, 10 have seen at least four goals scored in total, while all but nine of their clashes have seen both sides score. Admittedly there has been a significant gap between this season and the previous meetings - almost 16 years - but the history of fiercely fought contests remains intact.

Spartak are on a three-match winless run which has seen their hold on the RPL lead slip to CSKA, so they can ill afford to let an opportunity to pick up all three points at home to a side in the relegation zone. Rotor, meanwhile, remain the lowest scorers in the league with just seven goals all season. Something will surely have to give.

Photo: Konstantin Rybin/RPL