We have looked ahead to this weekend’s fixtures to pick out the key points to look forward to.

Spartak vs Ural: Shalimov faces old club in disarray as Spartak’s unusual bogey side come to town

Spartak Moscow have to pick themselves up after the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League by manager Rui Vitoria’s former club Benfica. They have the consolation of a backdoor route into the Europa League at least, but the tricky start needs addressing - and fast. Defeat to Aleksandr Kerzhakov’s newly promoted Nizhny Novgorod was a real hammer blow to their confidence.

Four defeats from his first five competitive games has already shifted focus onto the Portuguese head coach; the real test begins now. Aleksandr Sobolev has signed a new long-term contract extension at the club to give a boost at least, but the Russian international and his fellow forwards could really do with recreating their goalscoring form from last season as soon as possible.

Ural have struggled to convert chances into goals themselves with only one strike in their first three RPL fixtures. Yuri Matveev was subsequently relieved of his duties this week and replaced with former Spartak Moscow winger and FC Krasnodar head coach Igor Shalimov. 

Although his personal record against Spartak isn’t great - in six matches at the helm of Krasnodar and Akhmat he is yet to win after four defeats and two draws - but his new club is a different matter. In fact, Ural have only won more games against Anzhi in their top-flight history than they have against Spartak, and have just two defeats from their last 10 meetings with Spartak in all competitions.

Rostov vs CSKA: Can Semin fix it for leaky Rostov?

There isn’t much left for Yuri Semin to achieve in football after decades of management, but this challenge to resurrect Rostov’s fortunes might be his most impressive feat for a while. Under previous incumbent Valery Karpin Rostov had built a reputation for being tight at home, but with a shaky run of form stretching back to the back end of last season there is work to do. So far, Rostov have conceded seven goals already - the joint-highest tally in the RPL.

Semin embarks on his first home match in charge of his new club against CSKA, against whom he has lost more Russian league matches than any other side except Spartak. To help him shore up the defence is returning centre-back Bastos, who arrives on loan. Matthias Normann is also back from a lengthy injury layoff. 

CSKA are misfiring by their standards as they come off the back of consecutive 2-1 Moscow derby defeats following Dynamo’s comeback victory last weekend. In fact, they are currently on their longest losing streak away from home in the RPL since the year 2000, while they have only managed one goal in each league game so far. Throw in fitness concerns for new signing Anton Zabolotny, and the task gets tougher.

When Semin began his coaching journey as an assistant coach at Kuban Krasnodar, Aleksey Beresutsky wasn’t even born. Whether he will be able to teach the novice manager a lesson remains to be seen.

Lokomotiv vs Zenit: Can the comeback Kings dethrone the champions?

An unbeaten start to the season isn’t usually a cause for concern, and there’s little doubt Lokomotiv won’t complain with theirs either, but there are some areas to work on. So far this campaign, they have fallen behind in every game, and had to rely on supersub Vitaly Lisakovich to rescue a point against winless Ufa last weekend.

However, looking at it from another angle, there is significant cause for optimism. They have fought back each time to claim at least a share of the points with the type of character that will be essential to a title challenge. Against Ufa, they managed it while down to 10 men, and without Grzegorz Krychowiak following his surprise move to Krasnodar.

Zenit have had little such worry about their start with three wins from three, an early lead on goal difference at the top of the table, and the most goals scored. On top of that, they have confirmed the signing of Claudinho to offer even more attacking threat.

There is no question Zenit hold the momentum and recent bragging rights, with a comprehensive 3-0 Super Cup win and a humiliating 6-1 thrashing under their belts in the last two meetings. However, although they are unbeaten in the last five competitive encounters, they have failed to win in their last four trips to Moscow, scoring just once in that run.

Rubin vs Krylia: Can Slutsky’s men bounce back from European heartbreak?

Sadly for the RPL, penalties played a key part as both Europa Conference League entrants have been knocked out after agonising defeats in the third qualifying round this week. Despite twice taking the lead in Belgrade under the pressure of an intense Partizan crowd, Sochi were taken to extra time and a penalty shootout which they lost, while Sead Haksabanovic has a last-minute spot kick to level matters for 10-man Rubin, but couldn’t convert it.

The harsh realities of continental competition will strike hard at Rubin, especially given their rich history just over a decade ago of historic wins away to Barcelona in the Champions League. Back to domestic matters, and they have one of only three remaining 100% records to defend, and face the only side without a point to their name.

Krylia will not need to panic yet - we are only three games into a 30-match campaign after all, and they haven’t been swept away yet having lost each game by a single goal margin. With three of the next four RPL matches away from home though, the pressure will soon build if they’re not careful.