They will find the alignment: the 5th round of the Russian Cup will determine the main contenders for the playoffs

The group stage of the Russian Cup RPL is reaching the finish line. On October 27-29, the teams will play matches of the penultimate, fifth round. After four rounds, Zenit (11 points), Spartak (10), Dynamo and Rostov (both with 9 points) lead their groups. At the same time, it is decided not only who will enter the playoffs directly, but also who will escape from relegation: the gap between the first and last teams of group B is five points, in group D — six. We analyze all eight meetings of the tour.

Fakel – Akhmat

The first match of the round is a face—to-face battle for the third and fourth places in Group B. In August, the hosts turned out to be stronger in Grozny — 2:1, and so far this is the only victory of the Grozny team in the tournament, achieved in regular time. Now the teams have equal baggage — four points each, and a victory in 90 minutes will allow them to catch up with Krasnodar, which is coming in second (7 points). The loser will have to escape from the last line, which means relegation from the Cup.

Fakel changed its mentor in October: after defeating Oleg Vasilenko from Lokomotiv (0:5), Alexey Rebko replaced Oleg Vasilenko, and the team immediately came to life — they beat Krasnodar (2:0) in the Cup and got their first victory in the championship, over Krylia Sovetov (2:1). Last weekend, however, Voronezh lost to Rodina (0:1) and remained in last, 16th place in the RPL.

Akhmat has a five—match unbeaten streak: since mid-September, the Grozny team has scored only one point in all tournaments. In the last round of the Cup, they lost to Dynamo Moscow (1:2), and in the RPL they did not open the gates of Orenburg (0:1) and dropped to 14th place.

"Maybe someone will have questions after this interview, too."

Akhmat head coach and former coach of the Russian national team Stanislav Cherchesov — about the transfer window, the start of the RPL and refereeing

Krasnodar – Dynamo (Moscow)

The main match of the round according to the layout: the first and second teams of group B will meet — Dynamo has nine points, Krasnodar has seven, and the victory of the hosts in regular time will turn the table around. The first match in August was left for the Bulls — 1-0 in Moscow.

Krasnodar has a protracted slump: a 1-1 draw with Baltika in the 12th round, where they missed the victory in the 90th+3rd minute, extended the winless streak in all tournaments to seven matches. The defense drained of blood by Krivtsov and Douglas affects the results: Krivtsov was injured in the August cup match with Dynamo.

Dynamo lost to Akron last weekend (1:3), breaking a record winning streak, and lost to Zenit the first place in the RPL — now the blue and white have 25 points and the second line. In the Cup, Sandro Schwartz's team is first in the group with a goal difference of 6:2. Akhmat was beaten 2-1 in the last round. The injured Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov and Alexander Kutitsky will not help the guests.

Dynamo — the machine: blue and white took the lead in the RPL after defeating CSKA

Schwartz's team has won its seventh consecutive league match.

Orenburg – Rodina

The earliest match of the tour will open the game environment in Orenburg at Gazovik. In August, Orenburg won 4-1 in Khimki, the biggest defeat of Rodina in the current group stage. In Group A, Orenburg has seven points and second place, while Rodina has three points and fourth place. A victory will strengthen the hosts in the second position, and in case of defeat, Rodina is in danger of falling behind Rubin (4 points) in the fight for the salvageable third place.

Orenburg is the strongest team in the middle of the RPL table (sixth place, 16 points): in the 12th round, Orenburg beat Akhmat (1-0). The cup form is also evident — 4-1 with Rubin in the last round.

Rodina has a new coach: Jonathan Alba, who left Rostov at the end of September, took charge of the Muscovites on October 8. In the championship, the RPL debutant is 15th (9 points), but last weekend he finally won - minimally against Fakel (1-0). The Rodina Cup paradox: Rubin's sensational 5-0 defeat in the first round, the club's biggest victory over a top division team, and three defeats in the remaining matches.

Rostov – Akron

The face—to—face duel for the first place in group D: Rostov residents have 9 points, Tolyatti residents have 7. Akron lost the first match at home with a score of 0:4 — now the guests need to win at Rostov Arena to keep their chances of a direct ticket.

Rostov retained the lead in the group even after the cup defeat by CSKA (0:4), and last weekend they beat Lokomotiv in the championship (2:0) — now the yellow-blues have 15 points and seventh place. Dmitry Kirichenko has been at the helm of the team since September 26, and after Jonathan Alba's resignation, he was appointed acting head coach.

Akron is approaching the game in high spirits: in the 12th round of the Russian Premier League, Tolyatti broke Dynamo's record winning streak (3:1). A curious cup detail: four of Akron's seven points were scored in two penalty shootouts with Lokomotiv.

Spartak – Rubin

Wednesday's central match in Group A. In August, in Kazan, the teams parted in peace (1:1), and in the penalty shootout, Kazan was more accurate — 5:3. After four rounds, Spartak has 10 points, Rubin has four, so the visitors need a victory.

Manfred Ugalde, the RPL's top scorer (four goals), is a red and white player. The status of the best attack of the group stage also belongs to the current cup holders (13 goals scored). But the mood is clearly not the best: the defeat in the derby by CSKA (0:2) sent Spartak to fifth place in the RPL (23 points). Prior to that, Juan Carcedo's team defeated Rubin 4-0 in the 11th round.

Rubin lost to Krylia in the 12th round (0:2) and is 12th in the championship with 12 points. Kazan's two Cup wins came in penalty shootouts over Orenburg and Spartak. Rubin's defense in Group A is the worst along with Rodina's defense: 11 goals conceded in four matches.

Krylia Sovetov – Dynamo (Makhachkala)

In group C, the fate of the second place in the playoffs is being decided: Krylia and Baltika have six points apiece, and Makhachkala, with one point and without a single victory, have practically lost their chance to continue fighting in the top bracket.

Krylia beat Rubin on the road in the 12th round of the Russian Premier League (2-0) and are eighth with 15 points. In the last cup round, the Samaritans lost to Baltic at home (0:2) — the face-to-face race for second place did not turn in their favor, and they cannot lose points in a match with an outsider.

Dynamo has four defeats in four cup matches. On October 14, Vadim Evseev's team led in Kaspiysk against Zenit after a penalty taken by Hamid Agalarov, but conceded twice — 1:2. Last Saturday, Makhachkala lost to Zenit again (0:2) in the RPL.

Tell me who's first: Dynamo and the Army topped the RPL table

The misfires of Krasnodar and Spartak, as well as the success of Zenit, intensified the fight for the championship.

CSKA Moscow – Lokomotiv

The Moscow derby is in Group D, where the fame of the clubs does not coincide with the tournament position: CSKA is third (5 points), Lokomotiv is fourth (3 points). With Rostov in the lead, this is essentially a battle for the second place in the playoffs. The first match in August ended 1-1, and the Army team won in a penalty shootout.

CSKA is approaching this game on the wave of two resounding victories: 4-0 over Rostov in the Cup and 2-0 over Spartak in the championship — Kirill Glebov scored in the 34th second of the derby. The Red-Blues suffered their only defeat in the RPL in the 11th round against Dynamo. Now they have 25 points and the third place.

Lokomotiv is 13th in the RPL (11 points), in the play—off zone. Last weekend, the railwaymen lost to Rostov (0:2), and the October defeat of Fakel (5:0) remains the best match of the season. The team still has no wins in the Cup: all three points were scored for lost penalty shootouts - both against Akron and one against CSKA.

Baltika – Zenit

The program of the 5th round will be closed by the latest match. In Kaliningrad, the undisputed leader and the contender for the second place will meet in Group C at Rostec Arena. Zenit has 11 points out of a possible 12 and only one missed goal in four games, while Baltika has six points; the same number as Krylia Sovetov.

Zenit took a clean first place in the RPL last weekend (27 points), beating Dynamo Makhachkala (2:0) with two penalties. Maxim Glushenkov is the top scorer of the championship (10 goals). And the main cup story is a goalscoring one: back in September, Alexander Sobolev repeated Oleg Veretennikov's record of 24 goals in the Russian Cup, and one goal in Kaliningrad will make the striker the sole record holder of the tournament.

Baltika took a point from Krasnodar in the 12th round, having won back in the 90+3rd minute (1:1). In the last cup round, Kaliningrad beat Krylia Sovetov (2:0) and rose to second place in the group — they will go out to the match with Zenit, already knowing the result of Krylia's game with Makhachkala.