“Krasnodar” faces a difficult journey and “Spartak” has a chance to return to the winning path
Dmitry Zimin September 15, 2023, 08:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The main thing from the eighth round of the RPL, which begins tonight.
RPL returns after a two-week break. Yes, without the best matches, but even when there aren’t any, you can always find something attractive. Will Krasnodar be able to maintain the lead, taking into account the difficult trip to Grozny? Will Spartak return to the fight for the top ranks? After all, their rivals can’t lose either. We will discover all this and more in the next tour.
Friday’s match between Dynamo and Paris NN will open the round 8 program. Marcel Lička’s team got into an excellent rhythm after the first round defeat against Krasnodar. In the last six games there are four wins and two draws. And there are no prerequisites for suddenly playing worse. It seems like the team has quickly adapted to playing without Zakharyan, and Carrascal and Chavez should help them improve even more.
Paris NN unexpectedly returned to normality in terms of points: two victories in the last two rounds. For this reason, even in the match against Dynamo they do not seem obvious outsiders. From a psychological point of view, the Nizhny Novgorod team will definitely not give in to a confident opponent, so skill will decide everything. It is true that it is not clear whether Sergei Yuran will be present at the match; He recently had emergency surgery in Moscow.
CSKA has a dark streak. There have been no victories in three straight games. Yes, you can blame all you want on the last game against Zenit, where the Muscovites almost took the three points, but in the end they only got one. Because of this, the team fell from the top 5. Even Lokomotiv is above.
The next opponent is also the most unpleasant: “The Wings of the Soviets.” Now Igor Osinkin’s team is in third place in the RPL and is definitely not going to go down any further. A quick attack will surely cause problems for CSKA’s defense. There can be no question of an easy victory for Vladimir Fedotov’s team.
Akhmat clearly improved with the arrival of Romashchenko: two wins in the RPL and a draw with Spartak. And the coach himself admits that he corrected all the deficiencies, strengthened the defense and this squad is definitely capable of fighting for places at least in the middle of the table. Another thing is that now the team faces a difficult test – the match with the leader of the RPL.
“Krasnodar” is in a good mood, because recently they confidently criticized “Spartak”. So far, the “bulls” have the lead with only two goals conceded in seven games. The only drawback is the large number of collections, which will probably return to the club in different states. But if Krasnodar wants to stay on top, then it needs to keep winning.
Spartak has gone four games in a row without a win. And the championship title, which was practically handed to them at the beginning of the season, it seems that the time has come to return it. The last rounds are a complete nightmare: three defeats in four games. Abascal hardly had enough opportunities to correct the situation during the break, because many players left for the national teams.
Things are also complicated for Sochi. Two wins and five losses at the start. But Dmitry Khokhlov is still in his place. The club owner generally stated that he liked the design of the game, but the result was not enough. Consequently, after each subsequent defeat, Khokhlov may lose his position.
“Baltika” is very sorry at first. Based on the game, he definitely deserved more than three points. It is good that the management understands this, which is why Sergei Ignashevich continues to work without unnecessary nerves.
With Rostov, the newcomer to the RPL will have a new chance to get at least a draw. After all, many Donetsk players did not have very successful trips to the national teams and Karpin was completely disappointed. It would be great if he didn’t bring negativity into the club, but one way or another it will reflect. And given Rostov’s instability at the start of the season, plus the away game, the result could be anything.
“Ural” fell slightly in the table after a very successful start. The defeats against Zenit and Akhmat had an influence. And hardly anyone expected that Viktor Goncharenko’s team would be so good as to be on top until the end of the championship. Now is the time to get back to scoring consistently to stay in the middle.
After all, the rival of new coach Sergei Tashuev is a “fake”. We remember well how he transformed Akhmat during the previous season and brought him to the top 5. And now he will definitely try to do something similar with the new team. He definitely doesn’t want to lose in the first game.
Rashid Rakhimov still retains his place, despite numerous rumors, but now he must show results in the match against the Russian champion. It is curious that Rubin is one of the few clubs that in recent years has beaten Zenit twice during the season. Although this happened a long time ago: first in October 2020 and then in March 2021.
Zenit regained its senses after an uneventful start. And he pursues Krasnodar with all his might. Yes, against CSKA we couldn’t get three points. But there were minimal complaints about the match against Peter. All leaders are fit and ready to give their best.
Two victories in a row, over Sochi and Baltika, improved Loko’s spirits, but not overall confidence. After all, the Muscovites still seem unimportant when it comes to their game. Yes, Artyom Dzyuba returned to the lineup, so at least finishing improved, but on defense there are still problems. This is largely due to the lack of amplification.
“Orenburg” was transformed with the appointment of Deogracia. Draw with CSKA, sure victory for Sochi. In the game with Loko, they will definitely not look like outsiders. The main thing is that there is someone to score. And this will probably be possible even in the opposite field.
