We have looked ahead to this upcoming weekend’s fixtures in the Russian Premier Liga to bring you the key points to watch out for.

Zenit vs Dynamo: Who’s the pressure really on - champions or challengers?

There can be few more emphatic ways to shut down talk of a faltering title defence than hammering a historic rival by their record league defeat. Zenit were on course for an almost unprecedented three consecutive top-flight losses when Spartak rolled into town last weekend, and had they succumbed to the visitors, there would have been just three points separating the top seven sides.

They responded in style though. The spectacular 7-1 victory brought not only personal landmarks for Artem Dzyuba (who drew level with Oleg Veretennikov as the all-time top goalscorer in Russian championships on 143 goals) and Sardar Azmoun (who moved onto 85 goals, level with the legendary Vagner Love as the league’s highest-scoring foreigners), but restored a critical three-point advantage at the top.

Such is the twisting, turning path of this season’s RPL that all that positive energy could be extinguished in one fell swoop this weekend. Dynamo returned to second spot thanks to a relatively sedate 4-1 win at home to Khimki, and will edge ahead of Zenit on head-to-head record with a win. Easier said than done admittedly, especially in light of their fellow Muscovites’ chastening defeat, but the tantalising prospect of taking the RPL lead and dealing a blow to the clear favourites remains.

Zenit have won the last six meetings against Dynamo at home though, and although Sochi broke their unbeaten home streak earlier this month, Sandro Schwarz has to plan how to contain an attack that has managed two and a half goals per game so far. Four clean sheets in the last six away league fixtures is promising at least, with Zenit still struggling to keep visitors out - managing only one clean sheet at home all campaign - and with the focus on the repercussions of this fixture, anything is possible.

Rubin vs CSKA: Can Slutsky halt Rubin’s slide against old club CSKA?

It is approaching two years since Leonid Slutsky took over as Rubin Kazan head coach, and in that time he has already taken them on a rollercoaster to the edge of European competition proper. The agonising UEFA Conference League playoff defeat against Polish side Rakow at the start of August marked the start of a terrifying plunge on the ride though; since then, they have won just once in all competitions, and lost both friendlies in that time to boot.

The downward trajectory has seen Rubin dip into the bottom half of the table with the RPL’s longest current winless streak, but the signs of recovery are still there. The losing run ended two weeks ago against Lokomotiv in agonising circumstances after racing into a two-goal lead, and although unspectacular, a point away to Ufa deserves some credit. To snap out of the winless run though, he must mastermind a recovery against his old side, managed by his former pupil, and against whom he has won the fewest matches and average points (if one discounts Nizhny Novgorod, who beat Slutsky on the only occasion they met in the RPL).

CSKA by contrast have enjoyed a much less eventful season, but also have virtually the complete opposite form, with the longest unbeaten run behind Krasnodar. Aleksey Berezutsky has crafted the tightest defence in the RPL with only nine goals conceded - despite having key defenders out injured for parts of this season already - but while scoring the joint-least goals in the current top six.

Bruno Fuchs made a rare appearance midweek in the Russian Cup to offer an extra option at the back, while Fedor Chalov has been chipping in with regular goal contributions of late. Although they have won their last two away matches, there is one curiosity; it has been almost 15 months since they last beat a side above the bottom six away from home.

Spartak vs Rostov: How can Rui Vitoria bounce back from a club-record defeat?

It will be arguably the most telling performance of the weekend to see how Spartak respond to the worst league result in their history as they welcome Rostov to the Otkritie Bank Arena. Rui Vitoria has struggled to make his side click since taking over in the summer - especially Jordan Larsson, who has still not scored or assisted in the league, despite topping chance creation charts - and has the significant added burden of picking up his players’ mental state after the 7-1 in St. Petersburg.

Welcoming back Samuel Gigot from suspension is a start. The defence has let in more than rock-bottom Ural Ekaterinburg, and the Frenchman’s vocal leadership was missing against Zenit. Opponents Rostov may be far down the table, but have still managed to score five more than a side that scored for fun last season.

Rostov have dragged themselves out of the relegation zone after their second win in three games last weekend as they took Arsenal Tula to pieces. They have also won three of their last four RPL fixtures against Spartak in Moscow, although those are the only wins away from home against the Red-Whites they have ever had in 27 attempts.

It’s rarely dull with Rostov. Since the start of August all but one of their matches have seen both teams score, while they themselves have scored 11 goals in their last five matches. Given the choice, though, they would surely take any points against Spartak.

Krasnodar vs Krylia Sovetov: How many title challengers are there?

The temptation when looking at the latest Russian Premier Liga table is to see Zenit once again at the top, and assume it is all over - especially in light of last weekend’s historic win. Recency bias would gloss over how this is one of the most competitive tables at this stage of the season in years, with all the way down to sixth-placed Sochi with five points of the summit. When that top six doesn’t even include last season’s electric runners up Spartak, or European qualifiers Rubin Kazan, the predictions become even harder to make.

Right in the mix are Krasnodar, currently on a seven-match unbeaten run - the longest such spell in the RPL at present. The agony of so many near misses to reach Champions league football adds another layer of burden on their shoulders each season, but with so many dropped points amongst the challengers, this is a vital opportunity to push on into the top spots.

Krylia Sovetov remain a dangerous component in the season still, even if they are a few more points off the pace and coming off the back of a heart-breaking late 3-1 defeat away to CSKA Moscow last weekend. Just one draw all season suggests an all-or-nothing approach; they have beaten second-placed Dynamo and lost to struggling Arsenal on the road, so which version shows up is anyone’s guess.

Arguably the most unpredictable fixture of the weekend will have major repercussions on the shape of the first part of the season for both sides. Defeat for Krylia, and they are in slight danger of joining the relegation debate. Win, and they will thrust themselves within reach of the chasing pack.