10.04.2021

What to look out for on Matchday 25: Electric Moscow derby, Goncharenko’s Krasnodar debut, oldest new rivalry

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We have looked ahead to Matchday 25 to pick out the most intriguing storylines.

Electric Moscow derby

Without question the key fixture this matchday is between Moscow giants Lokomotiv and Spartak, with enormous consequences for both riding on this game. Lokomotiv have been on a remarkable run of form since the winter break, winning all seven competitive matches to rise to third in the table and reach the Russian Cup semi-finals on the back of 17 goals scored and just two conceded. They have already equalled their longest winning streak in the top flight since the turn of the millennium.

Curiously, they still have one of the lowest RPL top goalscorers in Grzegorz Krychowiak on six; eight other sides have a top scorer on more. Fedor Smolov has hit a hot streak recently with four in his last four competitive games and is on five, with Anton Miranchuk is next on four, despite not having played since December through injury. Even though they have hit eight goals in their last three home league games as a team, they remain the joint-lowest scorers in the top half of the table with 32 in 24 games.

Spartak, meanwhile, paint a different picture in front of goal. Their three top scorers alone total more goals than Lokomotiv’s whole squad, and in Aleksandr Sobolev they have one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen in 2021 - his goals to minutes played ratio is right up there alongside Robert Lewandowski, and more efficient than Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Spartak do have something of a historic hold over the Railroaders though. Lokomotiv have lost to the Red-Whites more often than any other side in Russian top-flight history, and have by far the worst accumulative goal difference against them too. Lokomotiv have tasted more Champions League football of late, qualifying for the group stages for the last three season in a row, whereas Spartak have reached the groups at UEFA’s top table once in the last eight seasons. It is they, however, who hold the upper hand this time round. Whatever happens 

Last chance saloon for Rostov?

With six matchdays to go, time is running out for Rostov if they want to sneak into Europe next season. They currently reside in eighth place on 37 points, six behind the last Europa Conference League spot, but if they fail to beat Rubin Kazan they risk dropping into the bottom half of the table with a mountain left to climb. On the plus side, they finish the season with three of the last four fixtures at home, two of which are against sides currently in the relegation playoff zone or lower, and all four against teams below them in the table as things stand. On the other hand, they must first take on two sides above them, starting with Rubin. 

It is either a blessing or a curse that they face Leonid Slutsky’s side this matchday, depending on your perspective. The bottom line is that to climb four places to reach the all-important top four, they need teams in their way to drop points - what better way to ensure that than beat them themselves? Rostov have a solid record against Rubin over the last five seasons, losing just once. In fact, the only side they have lost fewer games against in that time are newly-promoted Rotor Volgograd, while only fixtures against Spartak Moscow and Arsenal Tula have yielded more points.

There’s little question Rubin are the form side coming into this game though. Rostov have only managed one win in their last six RPL games, while Rubin have only lost once in their last seven, including winning their last three away matches in a row. All three sides above them - Dynamo, CSKA and Lokomotiv - are at home, leaving Rubin little room for error in their own push for Europe. 

Goncharenko’s debut in charge of Krasnodar

Viktor Goncharenko begins a new chapter in his managerial career this matchday as he heads up a faltering FC Krasnodar. The Belarussian brought an end to a five-year spell at CSKA - interrupted only by half a season in charge of FC Ufa - with a reputation for developing young players enhanced, having signed or brought through the likes of Vadim Karpov, Igor Diveev, Ivan Oblyakov, Arnor Sigurdsson, Fedor Chalov, Konstantin Maradishvili, Konstantin Kuchaev, Nair Tiknizyan and Ilzat Akhmetov - all of whom are still 23 or under. 

The seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent at Krasnodar’s academy appears to be tailor-made for Goncharenko’s eye in the long run, but his immediate task is to lift Krasnodar out of a slump in league form that has seen them sink down to 10th in the table. On his four previous managerial debuts in Russian football, he has experienced mixed results, losing his first games with Kuban Krasnodar and Ufa, both away from home, beating Kuban with Ural and drawing against Zenit with CSKA.

His new side face an Arsenal team that have accumulated half the number of points and scored less than half the number of goals, and that also have the spectre of the automatic relegation places hanging over them. Three points separate Arsenal - who had to contend with an agonising Russian Cup quarter-final defeat to Goncharenko’s old club on Thursday - and the bottom two, while they have won just once in their last 13 league matches.

The oldest new rivalry resumes

FC Sochi’s ascent to the upper echelons of the top flight has been rapid, but the club as a whole has been a long time in the making. In 2018, Dynamo St. Petersburg were relocated to the southern city and became the side now battling for a top-four finish under Vladimir Fedotov’s guidance. The original club had been founder members of the Soviet Top League in 1936 when the predecessors of what later became Zenit were only a second-tier side, and remained in the top flight until 1956. After Zenit’s promotion in 1938, they finished below Dynamo in each season before finally overtaking their city rivals in 1947.

Although today’s clubs are very different to what they were in the mid-20th century, they retain plenty of direct links. No fewer than 10 member of Sochi’s squad have spent time in Zenit’s system, either in the youth ranks or as part of the first-team squad. 

Despite a slight stumble in form for Sochi - they have only won one of their last four league games, a run that has left them outside the top four - they do have by far the best unbeaten home record in the top flight. The last time they actually lost at the Fisht Olympic Stadium was over 13 months ago, and they have won the last five home games straight without conceding a single goal.

After dropping points in their first two games after the winter break, Zenit have regrouped with three straight wins of their own to retain their control of top spot in the table. Last time they played on the road they picked up only their second away win since last August with a morale-boosting 3-2 win over CSKA Moscow. 


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