Fans of the Russian Premier League will be treated to a top of the table clash on Wednesday night as league leaders Zenit St. Petersburg host CKSA Moscow.
Zenit St. Petersburg sits at the top of the table thanks to goal difference with two wins from two games to open the campaign. CSKA Moscow are second in the division on six points but their +3-goal difference is one goal off of Zenit’s figure.
Manager Sergei Semak’s Lions are yet to concede a goal in 180 minutes of Russian Premier League football. Zenit St. Petersburg have won to nil in two straight games with wins over Rotor Volgograd and FC Rostov. Both matches ended in 2-0 wins respectively.
CKSA Moscow have conceded just one goal having scored four times in two matches. The Horses defeated Khimki 2-0 on opening day and FC Tambov at home 2-1 on matchday 2. Now, manager Viktor Goncharenko takes his team to the Gazprom Arena to play their biggest title rival.
Zenit St. Petersburg have a fantastic recent record against CSKA Moscow in all competitions. The reigning Russian Premier League champions have posted a 6W-5D-1L record against CSKA Moscow over the course of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
CSKA Moscow’s last win versus Zenit St. Petersburg came in November 2018. That game finished 2-0 in favour of the horses at home. However, wins for the capital club have been few and far between versus Zenit St. Petersburg.
Last season’s match at the Gazprom Arena saw the clubs finish 1-1 thanks to goals from Nikola Vlasic in the first and an equaliser by Zenit’s Aleksandr Yerokhin in the second period. The reverse fixture between the clubs in Moscow saw Zenit St. Petersburg run out 4-0 winners.
Semak’s side scored three goals in the opening 45 minutes through Branislav Ivanovic and two from Malcom. Sebastian Driussi added the fourth in the 90th minute with a penalty.
The manager of the reigning champions will be without Andrei Lunev for the game due to injury. He is expected to be out until mid-September with a muscle strain. CKSA Moscow are without Ilzat Akhmetov for the entire season with a shoulder injury.
Zenit St. Petersburg have seen four different players score goals this season making them a very dangerous side to defeat. The club keep 56.7% of possession in games and should continue to dominate that phase of play.
Semak’s team should collect their third straight victory with a win over CKSA Moscow. The trend of the Lions gaining wins versus CSKA Moscow will continue as the reigning champions move toward another Russian Premier League trophy.