The central match of matchday 8 of the Super League will undoubtedly be the match in Moscow, where Dinamo will host Zenit-Kazan. Just a couple of weeks ago, these clubs played the Legends Cup final at the same venue, the Muscovites turned out to be stronger. But let’s not forget that in the first match of the season between these clubs Kazan won, thus winning the Russian Super Cup. Now the leadership of the Super League is at stake! Who will emerge victorious?
Dynamo gained confidence
The victory in the Legends Cup is difficult to overestimate. In fact, before this match, Dynamo lost to the Kazan club seven times in a row. The previous victory of the Muscovites over their rivals occurred a year ago, in the final of the Centenario Cup. But then Zenit-Kazan played without its foreign players. And then he allowed his opponent to take only three sets in seven matches. So a victory will definitely give confidence to Muscovites. True, after this Dynamo played not the safest match in Kemerovo, almost losing to Kuzbass, but Konstantin Bryansky noted that this game “took the crown” from the team. There is definitely no need to tune anyone to Kazan.
Why will they win? Dynamo have gained depth in their squad this season, which helps Konstantin Bryansky. Especially on the diagonal, where Maxim Sapozhkov is gaining more and more competition from Tsvetan Sokolov. There is also rotation in the center of the grid: the Muscovites won the Legends Cup without Ilya Vlasov, whom we are used to seeing in the starting eleven.
Maxim Sapozhkov
Photo: vcdynamo.ru
Dinamo’s home stadium is also an advantage for them, although the support from the stands is not as strong. But the living room at home, where everything is familiar, is undoubtedly a plus point. The confidence gained with the recent victory is also a plus point. This should not be forgotten.
Of the minuses, we can note that the Dynamo is very service-dependent. If there are problems in this element, it will not be easy to force the fight against a rival like Zenit-Kazan. On the other hand, in the final of the Legends Cup, the blue and white defended well, no worse than their rivals. And this became a revelation for Alexey Verbov’s team.
Kazan is finally interesting!
There is a feeling that constant victories have somewhat weakened the vigilance of both the players and the coaches of the Kazan club. Well, the defeat in the Legends Cup was a sobering shower and additional motivation. Between two matches against Dynamo, the Kazan team went to Nizhny Novgorod, where they confidently defeated ASC. The time has come to analyze the lost final. Let’s see what conclusions were drawn in the national champion’s camp.
Why will they win? It has been a long time since Zenit-Kazan lost two games in a row, let alone important matches. And the set Kazan lost 13:25 in the Legends Cup final probably angered them.
This time Alexey Verbov will be able to count on Maxim Mikhailov. Yes, the diagonal is not getting any younger, Verbov is trying to rely more and more on Kirill Klets, but for now, with and without Mikhailov, Zenit-Kazan are two different teams. And it’s not so much about Maxim’s offensive abilities (although they are at the highest level), first of all, together with Sam Deru, he plays the role of cement in defense. In the lost match, this was clearly not enough for the Kazan team.
Maxim Mikhailov
Photo: zenit-kazan.com
What emotions! The coach of the Kazan club mentioned the lack of emotions after the semi-final with Belogorye as one of the main reasons for the defeat. Now the players are totally focused on the rival.
At the moment, the championship is led by Zenit-Kazan, they are the only team that has not yet lost in the Super League. Dinamo lost to Belogorye, but if they win they will beat Kazan. So the winner will become the leader! Let’s see if the Muscovites can start a series of match victories against Zenit Kazan, or whether the champion will take revenge and take the lead in a unique series of matches of the season!
