Accuracy margin: will Akhmat's match with Zenit be a successful start for Cherchesov

The main match of the next round of the Russian Premier League will be the capital derby between Lokomotiv and Spartak. While Loko fans are experiencing a surge of euphoria, Spartak fans are seriously considering whether to continue their journey with Deyan Stankovich. In this regard, the result of the derby can be fateful — if the red and white lose without showing anything outstanding, news marked "urgent" is possible in the very near future. It will be equally interesting to watch Stanislav Cherchesov return to Russian football. And this is already a big reason to include his first match at the helm of Akhmat in his weekend program. Read more about the upcoming matches of the fourth round in the Izvestia article.

The most complicated calendar of red and white begins

There are questions primarily about the prudence of the Spartacists. The psychosis began at the end of last season, when not only two players, but also the coach, retired in a cup match with Rostov. In the summer, the trend continues — Spartak spent almost half of their playing time in the championship in the minority. One can, of course, nod towards the injustice of judges, but even Stankovich has already stopped doing this. Obviously, something is wrong in the team.

The start was expected to be calm for the red-whites — the home matches with Baltika and Dynamo Makhachkala and the subsequent trip to Akron did not exactly portend something titanically difficult. But we can see the result — 11th place in the table, two goals scored and three red cards. Now the easy ride for Spartak is over — in the next five rounds there will be matches with Lokomotiv, Zenit, Rubin and Dynamo. Either the red and white will activate all internal resources and transform, or they risk becoming the second club after Akhmat to replace the head coach.

For Loko, the situation is excellent — nine points in three matches, first place in the table, and hardly anyone took the defeat from CSKA in the Cup seriously. There's a lot of order with the attack, they score the most in the league. But now the defense is starting to strain — in the last round with Paris NN, Anton Mitryushkin had to make eight saves, and the score 3:2 speaks for itself. Let's see if this is a growing problem, or just a one-match decline.

Akhmat – Zenit: how does Cherchesov start?

Of course, one can argue a lot about whether Alexander Storozhuk was fired fairly. On the one hand, four defeats in four matches of the season is an unambiguous indicator. On the other hand, in each of these meetings, the Grozny team did not look like whipping boys and fought on equal terms. An interesting fact is that at the moment, Akhmat is the leader in the number of strikes in the RPL (49). But the decision has been made, so we're waiting to see what happens.

Cherchesov says that this season will be a transitional one, but now the emotional aspect is important first of all. Previously, Akhmat often took away points from Zenit on its own field — if it succeeds now, the team will receive a serious endorphin boost after a bad start.

As for the residents of St. Petersburg, the start of a new campaign is definitely not a good one for them. Five points in three matches and conceded goals in every game is not what is expected from a team determined to regain the throne. Both the Latvian and the defenders are acting uncertainly, they can't find the balance in the attack, the star newcomer Gerson hasn't put the magic on stream yet.

But the main question is, what's going on with Glushenkov? Maxim was definitely the best player in the first part of last season, but now he's hindering the team rather than helping it. The match against Akhmat is a chance for him and the whole team to start from scratch. Zenit's opponent is right in their teeth.

CSKA – Rubin: Celestini with almost no squad

Reassembling the squad right during the season is a terrible dream for any coach. Especially the one who joined the club recently. Fabio Celestini found himself in just such a situation. Even before the start of the RPL, four players left CSKA, Fayzullaev, Kellven and Mukhin recently left, Willian Rocha and, possibly, Sekou Koita are next in line. Of the newcomers— only Mateus Alves and the hired Lionel Verde. Obviously, the team needs not only qualitative, but also quantitative reinforcement in order to compete for high places. Even considering that Colombian winger Daniel Ruiz is due to arrive soon.

So far, the army is coping with the recruitment that is available. And, admittedly, it's not bad. Yes, the quality of the game leaves much to be desired, but the points are gaining. If we manage to beat Rubin, we can put at least 4+ points for the start of the season against CSKA and personally against Celestini.

But Kazan scored a very decent move — not to say that they attacked a lot, but with high quality — with 26 shots on goal (fourth place from the end), Rashid Rakhimov's team scored six goals (fourth in the league). This effectiveness is provided primarily by the Mirlinda Daku counterattacking model and form.

The goalkeeper duel is also intriguing. Igor Akinfeev is still the best this season in terms of deflected shots (87.5), while Rubinovets Evgeny Staver, Timur Magomedov and Sergey Pesyakov share the second place (85.7). It is unlikely that we will see many chances, because the calmness and confident actions of the goalkeepers should be crucial.

CSKA has been struggling with Rubin lately, with just one win in eight matches. But these are just numbers that will cease to mean anything immediately after the starting whistle.

Orenburg – Krasnodar: the champion is again without a key newcomer

Now is a crucial moment for Krasnodar. A victory over Orenburg, especially a confident one, should close the talks about an ambiguous starting segment. Just like last season, the Bulls are not impressive in the first month of the new season. But a victory over Dynamo in the third round could start a positive trend that would overshadow the impressions of losing the Super Cup and defeats against Lokomotiv and Krylia Sovetov. The main claim to the champion is effectiveness in attack. Musaev's team clearly lacks freshness of thought. Gaetan Perrin, the best assistant of last season in Ligue 1 (along with Ryan Sherki, who joined Manchester City this summer), must solve the problem. But the French rookie is injured and will miss several weeks, so for now we'll have to make do with the available resources.

In any case, Orenburg and Krasnodar should win. Moreover, Vladimir Slishkovich was left without a key defensive player, Alexei Tataev, who received a red card in the last round. Orenburg residents are supported by their native synthetic turf and the early start of the match, which will have an impact on the opponent, given his difficult logistics. In general, Krasnodar will most likely have to pull out the result with their teeth. Character is what distinguishes a truly champion team. It's time to show it.

Sochi – Dynamo: when will Karpin revive the attack?

Oh, how much negativity was poured out on Valery Karpin in his debut stint at Dynamo. There's no arguing, the blue and white are being scolded for the cause: there is not enough intensity in the center of the field, and the attack simply does not work (as indicated by the number 0 in the "shots on target" column in the match with Krasnodar). Obviously, we all expected more from Yaroslav Gladyshev, the hero of spring, who suddenly faded this summer. I really miss Bitello's creativity. There was almost nothing left of the cheerful Dynamo Personality — suddenly the team simply forgot how to attack. I want to believe that this is just a moment of lapping up the new coach, and in the near future the quality of the game will go up.

The match against Sochi is a great opportunity to start a positive trend. The RPL rookie has no points scored and the goal difference is 1-9 in the first three rounds. Robert Moreno says that such results are a consequence of the late start of work in the transfer market. And the coach is right, because of the bureaucratic delays, Sochi had to prepare for elite performances in force majeure mode. But if the Southerners do not score at least one point in the near future, the Spaniard's Russian voyage may end very soon.