The new Russian Premier League season also recently got underway and this Monday afternoon clash between Akhmat Grozny and Sochi at the Akhmat Arena wraps up gameweek 2 in the domestic top flight this weekend.
Akhmat Grozny took full advantage of their season-opener last weekend against newly-promoted Krylya Sovetov, beating the new-boys 2-1 away from home at the Solidarnost Arena, but although they return to the more familiar surroundings of their Akhmat Arena on Monday, they’re expected to face a tougher prospect in the shape of Sochi here.
Nevertheless, that opening win of the season last weekend extended Akhmat Grozny’s unbeaten run in the Russian Premier League to three matches overall following positive results towards the end of their last campaign where they recorded a 3-1 home win against Tambov and picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at home with runners-up, Spartak Moscow.
Recent results show that Akhmat Grozny have lost just two of their last nine matches overall in the Premier League but both of these losses were away from home; indeed, Grozny have won just two of their last eight away games, losing five of these eight.
Onto Sochi, and last season was a solid campaign for the visitors as they achieved a 5th place finish in the Russian top flight, earning them a spot in the newly created Europa Conference League.
Sochi have duly grabbed their opportunity of European football with both hands as they recently registered a comprehensive 7-2 win on aggregate against Azerbaijan outfit, Qeshla, in the 2nd qualifying round of the competition, and they’ll now face Serbian side, Partizan Belgrade, in the upcoming 3rd qualifying round.
First of all though, Sochi will be keen to bounce back from their disappointing opening day 1-0 defeat away from home at Nizhny Novgorod this Monday.
The visitors will be hoping that they can transfer their midweek European success into the domestic scene in this upcoming clash at the Akhmat Arena.
Sochi have struggled on the road in previous outings in the Premier League as the visitors have gained just two wins out of their last 12 games on their travels but they do possess a good record against their hosts, being unbeaten in their previous six meetings and winning the last three on the trot, so the visitors look a decent bet on Monday.