Getting into the derby: what to expect from the confrontation between Spartak and CSKA

The upcoming 26th round of the Russian Football Championship is rich in top matches that affect the alignment in the fight for gold. On Saturday, we will have a super derby of Spartak Moscow and CSKA participating in the race for medals. On the same day, Dynamo Moscow, which is chasing them, will host Zenit St. Petersburg, which is coming second. In addition, the departure of the leading Krasnodar to Dynamo Makhachkala will be important.

Spartak – CSKA

This Moscow derby is traditionally considered the most principled and popular confrontation in Russian football. But the upcoming match is notable not only for the historical context of the feud between the two clubs and their fans, but also for the fact that it will take place at the finish line of the championship at a time when both Spartak and CSKA are fighting for medals, and under certain circumstances they can claim the championship.

With five rounds to go, Spartak is in third place and five points behind the first. Following the red-and-white team, CSKA is seven points away from the leader. Due to injury, Spartak players will not be able to use their main goalkeeper Alexander Maksimenko. He did not play in the last round, when Dejan Stankovic's team beat Akron Togliatti 3-2. He was replaced by Ilya Pomazun, who will take the field for the first time next weekend against his former club CSKA.

He had been in the army system for many years, with almost no chance of ousting Igor Akinfeev from the base. Ilya spent most of his time on loan at Ural Yekaterinburg. Last year, he trained with the CSKA foundation, but was removed from the squad by head coach Marko Nikolic after he said in an interview with journalist Nobel Arustomian's YouTube channel that he would not refuse to play for Spartak if possible.

As a result, Pomazun trained separately from the team for almost six months, and in the winter he nevertheless joined Spartak, for which his father Alexander Pomazun played in the 1990s. CSKA, in turn, is waiting for the return of defender Igor Diveev, who missed several matches due to injuries. In the last round, the Army team drew at home with Samara Krylia Sovetov (1-1), interrupting their five-match series in the championship.

— It's difficult to name a favorite in this pair — two equal teams will meet, — Andrey Chervichenko, the former owner of Spartak, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — CSKA has a great defense, but a very weak attack. Spartak players, on the contrary, have excellent performers ahead, but the defense is a mess. And then there's the loss of Maximenko, which is very serious. It is difficult to understand how Pomazun's military past will affect here. I am sure that he will try very hard to help his team out as much as he can, especially in a match against his former club, but he may find himself psychologically squeezed because any of his smallest mistakes will be viewed under a magnifying glass because of his former affiliation with CSKA. In general, the match is going to be very unpredictable, where the result will depend on emotions, mistakes and luck, rather than some kind of game structure. Although I think Nikolic is stronger as a coach than Stankovic, he is more fundamental in terms of setting the game. But now he has a limited human resource. Therefore, I do not believe that CSKA can join the fight for gold, and for Spartak it will end if he does not win the derby. His fans were euphoric again after the victory over Akron, that their favorite team could do something there. But I think that the red-and-white team doesn't have a chance at the distance anyway, and either Zenit will become the champion, or Krasnodar will become the champion if they arrange for themselves to lose points out of the blue.

Dynamo (Moscow) – Zenit

After a difficult home victory over Rubin Kazan, Dynamo Moscow once again got a chance to return to the fight for medals. They are separated by four points from Spartak, which closes the top three. To catch up with the red and white, Dynamo needs to beat Zenit at home, which is extremely unstable this spring.

In the last two weeks, the Petersburgers have won two home victories, but if the defeat of Krasnodar, which is going first (4:1), made a positive impression, then the forced victory over Khimki, which is in distress due to financial problems (1:0) caused negative emotions.

Zenit is only two points behind the leader. And he should not allow a misfire in the game against Dynamo, which is gradually coping with the loss of its main striker Konstantin Tyukavin due to a serious injury - the young striker Yaroslav Gladyshev has been scoring regularly lately.

"You're focusing on Dzyuba's record, and I'm focusing on my goal from his pass."

Dynamo Moscow football player Daniil Fomin — about the first goal for the Russian national team, Ovechkin's record for goals in the NHL and the results of his team

"Dynamo may well resist Zenit, take away its points and even win," Sergei Silkin, the former Dynamo head coach, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — But it all depends on emotions, courage, the ability to realize moments and not make mistakes in defense. Dynamo currently has a team that is extremely unstable in all these factors. She can play well, but lose because of individual mistakes from behind and unrealized moments ahead. Zenit's experience is on his side here. In addition, the team from St. Petersburg will be extremely motivated, taking into account the championship race. But at the same time, Dynamo can also get together for a separate match. In addition, Gladyshev's performance gives reason to believe that his team will use what it creates in attack, and is no longer as dependent on Tyukavin as it was a month ago.

Dynamo (Makhachkala) – Krasnodar

The Dagestani club, with its thirst for fighting, organization of the game and excellent physical form, has shown that this season it is capable of winning against anyone. Therefore, the team, which entered the RPL for the first time a year ago, is confidently in 11th place with a margin of four points from the transition zone and 10 from the relegation zone. And from the outside, it seems that she should have no problems maintaining a residence permit in the elite, despite her extremely limited budget.

In the round before last, Khasanbi Bijiyev's team beat Spartak (2:1). They also took away his glasses at home in early autumn (0-0). And in the summer, in the second round of the championship, they played a 1-1 draw with Krasnodar. And now they have to host Krasnodar and Zenit at home in the last five rounds, affecting the championship race.

Tripled the race: how the RPL leaders conducted the next round

Krasnodar, Zenit and Spartak won difficult victories, CSKA lost important points.

For Krasnodar, it seemed to many that he would fall from first place after a crushing defeat against Zenit. But Murad Musayev's team managed to win a difficult match at home against Akhmat Grozny in the last round, interrupting their opponent's long unbeaten streak in the championship. If they hold the lead following the results of their visit to Makhachkala, then the chances of gold will increase significantly again.

"We will do everything to win the remaining matches of the championship, regardless of who is playing against us," Dynamo Makhachkala defender Valentin Fingers told Izvestia. — We have shown more than once this season that we can score points and win matches against any team. The match we won against Spartak is an example of that. Therefore, we will do everything to successfully play against Krasnodar, Zenit, and other remaining rivals in this championship.

There will also be five more matches in the upcoming round. Rostov will play at home with Moscow's Lokomotiv, Pari Nizhny Novgorod will host Grozny's Akhmat, Samara's Krylia Sovetov will meet Orenburg, Khimki will host Tolyatti's Akron, and Kazan's Rubin will take the field at home. against the Voronezh "Torch".