In your own way: what to expect from the upcoming Russian Cup matches
Following the restart of the Russian Football Championship, the Russian Cup is resumed. This week we are waiting for the first semi—final matches of the "Path of the Regions" - Zenit vs Rostov and the CSKA Moscow derby with Dynamo. In addition, four matches of the second stage of the quarterfinals will be held in the "Path of the Regions". The most interesting of them will be the visits of Spartak Moscow to Samara to Akron Togliatti and Lokomotiv Moscow to Dynamo Makhachkala.
"The RPL Way"
Rostov – Zenit
Rostov experienced two global shocks at the end of winter. First, the long—term captain of the team and its key player, midfielder Danil Glebov, was sold to Dynamo Moscow. And three days before the first spring match, Valery Karpin left the post of head coach, officially citing the need to focus on his work in the Russian national team.
He became the head of Rostov in December 2017. In the summer of 2021, he also began to lead the national team as a combination, but after two matches he quit the club and worked exclusively with the national team until March 2022. After her suspension from international competitions, he returned to Rostov and for almost three years he again combined two posts.
After his second retirement from Rostov, Karpin's Spanish assistant Jonathan Alba became the head coach of the Don team. The entire previous staff of Valery Georgievich remained with him. So far, the parting with Karpin and Glebov has not had much effect on the Rostov team — in the first two spring matches of the Russian championship, they drew at home with Dynamo Moscow (1:1) with a total playing advantage over their opponent, and then defeated Orenburg (2:1). This allows the club to confidently stay in seventh place.
— So far, it is clear that the departure of Karpin and Glebov has not significantly undermined Rostov's capabilities, — Andrey Chervichenko, the former owner of Spartak and Khimki, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — In the terminology of Stanislav Cherchesov, who likes to draw parallels with military topics, the commander left, but his deputy remained. And for now, the team retains what it was under Karpin. After all, this entire staff worked under Valery, the composition, apart from Glebov's departure, has not changed. Everything works like clockwork, so we see the same unyielding Rostov that we saw before. Maybe the emotions that Karpin gave have decreased somewhere, but otherwise the level remains.
Zenit resumed the season in the championship with a home draw with CSKA Moscow (0:0), and then beat Fakel Voronezh (2:0). And along with Krasnodar, it leads the RPL after 20 rounds. It is possible that he will not be the main squad for the game with Rostov, but experts have repeatedly stressed that the reserve of the St. Petersburg club is of such a level that it could not be lost at the RPL level. It was he who helped the blue-white-blues to get out of the first place from the group, and confidently pass the Grozny Akhmat in the quarterfinals of the RPL Path." (3:0; 2:1).
— This season and after the winter break, Zenit, in particular, is going the distance a bit hard, — Andrey Chervichenko added. — And there may be big problems with Rostov. After all, it's the height of the fight for gold in the championship, where everything is not easy for Peter. In addition, next weekend we will visit Spartak Moscow, our direct competitor, where one of the key matches of the season will be played. And this is after a cup trip to Rostov-on-Don, where you have to travel by train now because of the closed flights. As well as back. In other words, Zenit is going to have a very grueling trip, so I wouldn't be surprised if they take care of their base in front of Spartak and leave it in St. Petersburg. The second team, of course, is also good, but it is far from certain that it will cope with Rostov, which, unlike Zenit, does not put pressure on anything, and this can help to successfully play against the champion.
CSKA Moscow – Dynamo (Moscow)
In the Russian championship, Dynamo Moscow failed in the first match after the break, but with Rostov's total game advantage, they miraculously managed to take away a draw (1:1). The bad news was the loss of key striker Konstantin Tyukavin in this game — he tore his cruciate ligaments and was out for more than six months.
Last weekend, the blue and white team performed better, defeating Dynamo Makhachkala at home. This allows them to stay in the race for medals. Marcel Lichka's team is only one point away from Spartak, which closes the top three of the RPL. There are four points from the leaders Krasnodar and Zenit.
CSKA is four points behind Dynamo in the championship. He had a bright away match with Zenit (0-0), and then with difficulty in the last minutes he snatched a home victory over Khimki (1-0). Nevertheless, the Army team has not been able to rise from sixth place yet. And the Russian Cup is important for them as a way to make a successful season if they don't achieve anything in the championship. However, this tournament is also of great importance for Dynamo — in 2025 it will be 30 years since the last victory of the blue and white in this competition and, in general, the last major trophy in its history.
"Two completely equal opponents who are playing unstable, so you can expect any result and the nature of the game from the match," Dmitry Bulykin, a former Dynamo Moscow striker, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — The Army team had a hard time in the first part of the season, but in winter their head coach Marko Nikolic rebuilt the team to a four-defender scheme with a diamond in the middle line. It worked great for him at Lokomotiv at the time. Let's see how it will be in CSKA this spring. But in any case, the team needs time to get used to these requirements. And at Dynamo, we see matches of diametrically opposite quality in the spring — the blue-and-white team was rocked in the fall. Hence, it is difficult to predict the outcome of both the upcoming game and the two-legged confrontation as a whole.
"The Path of the Regions"
Akron – Spartak
The confrontation between Artem Dzyuba and Spartak Moscow is always intriguing. February marked 10 years since the scandalous departure of the star striker from his hometown club, but the noise from his matches with the red and white is still no less than from meetings with his recent employers like Zenit and Lokomotiv.
In addition, Dzyuba reached a historic milestone last weekend — in the Russian championship match against the Samara Wings of the Soviets, the Akron striker scored the 234th career goal in official matches. According to this indicator, he became the best among all Russian football players, breaking Alexander Kerzhakov's record.
It is equally important that this helped Akron to win the Samara Region derby with a score of 2:0 and further strengthen its position in the middle of the standings, increasing the gap from the zone of transitional matches to seven points.
Spartak broke their seven-match winning streak in the championship in the same round. The red and white lost away to Rubin Kazan (1:2). Because of this, they are now three points behind the leaders Krasnodar and Zenit. Now they are going to visit Akron, a defeat from which will mean relegation from the Russian Cup.
— Akron may well beat Spartak — after all, it managed to do it once, and with a very good game, — says Andrey Chervichenko. — And at that time, the Tolyatti club was still playing in the first league (in the spring of 2023, Akron beat Spartak in the Path of the Regions playoffs with a score of 2:1 — Izvestia). And now he's already overgrown with meat, gained experience playing against top teams in the RPL. And it represents a more serious force. And not only at the expense of Dzyuba — the team, in principle, plays very organized both offensively and defensively. Head coach Zaur Tedeev is making the most of the team's human resources. And she can beat anyone. Moreover, we do not know which Spartak team will be taking to Samara. He can save the foundation or part of the foundation before the game against Zenit. And we saw how the red and white reserve plays in November, when they flew out of the "RPL Path" Cup from Rostov." (0:1; 1:2).
Dynamo (Makhachkala) – Lokomotiv
These teams had already met with each other in Dagestan a week and a half ago. In the first championship match after the winter break, they drew 1-1. Moreover, Dynamo Makhachkala led 1-0 in the end, but in the 85th minute Dmitry Vorobyov's goal allowed Lokomotiv to escape defeat.
Then things weren't going well for both rivals. In the last 20th round, the Railwaymen lost points again, having drawn at home with Akhmat Grozny (1:1). They remain in fifth place, but are already three points behind the third. And the Makhachkala team suffered a crushing defeat from Dynamo Moscow (0:4) and found themselves in the zone of transitional matches. Nevertheless, even in the conditions of the struggle for survival in the RPL, they are serious about the Cup.
"We are unhappy with the draw with Lokomotiv in the championship — you can't be happy when you lead in the end and don't win," Shamil Gazizov, CEO of Dynamo Makhachkala, told Izvestia. — That's why we want to win the cup match and move on. Moreover, we need to rehabilitate ourselves in front of our fans after the defeat from Dynamo Moscow. And it's not just about the score, but also about the game itself — it was terrible in our performance. But I'm sure we'll fix it. How seriously do we want to go further in the Cup while fighting for survival in the championship? This question is similar to trolling. Of course, in both tournaments we will try to play all the matches to win. In the Cup, too. Therefore, we will do everything to pass the Locomotive.
There will also be two more matches in the second stage of the Path of the Regions quarterfinals in the next two days. Krasnodar will host Akhmat Grozny, and Ural Yekaterinburg, the last remaining First League representative in the tournament, will face Rubin Kazan at home. The return matches of the RPL Path semifinals will be held in mid-April.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
