In terms of star power and table implications, the weekend’s Zenit – Dynamo clash in St. Petersburg is the RPL’s biggest yet of the season.
The showdown between Zenit St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow is not only a match between number one and two in the Russian Premier League, it is also a match between two of the deepest-pocketed Russian clubs. Both squads have plenty of foreign talent with exciting players like Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel and Hulk for Zenit and Christopher Samba, Alexander Buttner and Mathieu Valbuena for Dynamo. This is definitely going to be a huge tie between two of the RPL’s top title contenders. To get in on the action, head over to http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb/betting/y/5/Football.html.
Both Zenit and Dynamo changed managers last season after Luciano Spalletti and Dan Petrescu failed to live up to ambitious expectations. They were replaced by Andre Villas-Boas and Stanislav Cherchesov. Both managers have really changed the pace at their clubs.
Andre-Villas Boas almost won the championship last year when he started his stint with Zenit with seven victories in a row, but everything went wrong in the home game against Cherchesov’s Dynamo in the second last match of the season. Dynamo had already secured a spot in the Europa League and didn’t have anything more than honor to play for, so it looked to be an easy win for Zenit.
The game started according to the plan as Portuguese star Danny scored Zenit’s opening goal after just six minutes. At halftime the score was 1-1, and a draw would have been enough for Zenit to stay in first place over CSKA Moscow. But then, unexpectedly, Zenit completely lost control in the second half and allowed Dynamo to score three times and run away with the win.
The embarrassment was too much for the club ultras and even after club legend Aleksandr Kerzhakov reduced Dynamo’s lead in the 82nd minute, they invaded the pitch five minutes later, forcing the game to be disbanded. During the pitch invasion one fan even attacked Dynamo defender Vladimir Granat and gave him a concussion. The terrible scenes forced the Russian Football Union to give Dynamo a 3-0 win and led to a ban on spectators at Zenit’s stadium for three games. After the loss, CSKA Moscow passed Zenit in the championship race, while St. Petersburg had to settle for a disappointing second.
The Russian Premier League schedule makers knew how popular Zenit’s big games against their Moscow rivals are, so they made sure that Zenit did not face any major teams without spectators. This meant that until the match against an awful Lokomotiv Moscow side last week, Zenit had only faced teams from the bottom half of the league. This is the main reason why Zenit is the only team in the league with maximum points after six fixtures. One of the more impressive victories was the 8-1 thrashing of newly promoted Torpedo Moscow in the second round.
While Zenit’s impressive offensive lineup has done perfectly this season scoring 18 goals in six league matches, their defense has also been very strong. The addition of World Cup finalist Ezequiel Garay has given Villas-Boas’s team the defensive boost it needed, and Zenit have just conceded two goals in the league so far. If we include their Champions League qualification matches, they have five clean sheets in a row.
Dynamo Moscow travel to St. Petersburg after a great win in Krasnodar against last season’s number five FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is normally a very difficult place to win, just ask Spartak Moscow, but Dynamo did everything right and got away with a 2-0 victory. The addition of French World Cup star Matthieu Valbuena from Marseille has proved vital for Cherchesov’s offense. Valbuena has collected four assists and scored once in his first five games, already asserting himself as one of the best players in the Russian Premier League.
Valbuena’s arrival in Moscow has also proved helpful to young striker Aleksandr Kokorin, who is still trying to find the final breakthrough. Kokorin has been one of Russia’s biggest talents for a long time, but this season has also seen him chase after the league lead for goals scored. With four strikes in his first six league games; perhaps this is the year he ends among the top goalscorers? In any case, good performances from Valbuena and Kokorin are key for Dynamo if they want a good result in St. Petersburg.
One of the few things that has not worked out for Dynamo this season is the goalkeeper position. They started the season with former Russian international Vladimir Gabulov in goal, but he was dropped after a shaky performance at home against Rostov in the first round, a game Dynamo won 7-3. Cherchesov turned to 40-year-old Roman Berezovsky, who actually played for Zenit between 1994 and 2000. Berezovsky, despite his age, is still going strong as his status as first keeper and captain for the Armenian national team proves, but he is not as quick as he used to be. Berezovsky had probably accepted his role as backup but now he is undergoing a resurgence in his career.
Both Hulk and Garay have been dealing with injuries this season after a long World Cup tournament and are still doubtful this weekend. Both players have been great for Zenit so far, so it will be a huge loss if they are unable to participate. On the other hand, with Zenit starting their Champions League campaign on Wednesday away against Benfica, it’s difficult to imagine them taking any risks if Hulk or Garay proves not to be 100% ready. On the other side, Russian midfielder Artur Yusupov has been suspended after his red card against Krasnodar, where he received two yellow cards within only three minutes.
Villas-Boas’ Zenit are definitely favourites for this match against Dynamo. Even though their ultras are boycotting home games at the moment because of a new set of rules to enter their section, I am sure the people of St. Petersburg want to support their team in this difficult match for first place in Russia. Dynamo do have a great squad and Cherchesov is a skilled manager who knows how to set his team up for these kind of games, but they have not looked as good as Zenit so far this season. They have had defensive problems and those mistakes will be punished by Zenit’s strikers.
As former Zenit player and Soviet league champion in 1984 Vyacheslav Melnikov told Zenit’s official website: “Dynamo are a pretty strong side this season, but they are not playing with consistency.”
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