MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. The current champion of Russia, St. Petersburg Zenit, will play on Sunday with Kazan Rubin in the match of the eighth round of the World – Russian Premier League. The meeting will take place at the Ak Bars Arena in Kazan.
Source: FC Zenith”
Zenit started the championship uncertainly, but in the last rounds it picked up speed and won three wins and one draw. The St. Petersburg team is in fourth place, with 14 points after seven rounds, but if they win, they will rise to second place and reduce the gap from the leading Krasnodar to one point. Rubin is in 13th place with six points; the Kazan team have lost three of their last five matches. The match between Rubin and Zenit will start at 16:30 Moscow time.
Football
Rubin – Zenit
Both teams approached the match with almost optimal lineups. Zenit’s midfielder Andrei Mostovoy will not play due to injury; Rubin has no injured or disqualified players. French striker Wilson Isidore, who came on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow, may make his debut for the St. Petersburg team. Before the transfer window closed, Rubin strengthened itself with several players: the Kazan team was replenished by goalkeeper Egor Shamov, Serbian defender Uros Drezgic, Serbian midfielders Lazar Randjelovic, Nikola Cumic and Argentinean Valentin Vada, as well as Serbian striker Lazar Randjelovic.
Zenit head coach Sergei Semak, who twice became the national champion as a player with Rubin, assessed the opponents as a strong team. “The team is experienced, strong, and has been reinforced with several more players in the last days of the transfer window. They are a very serious opponent who play well at home and use set pieces well. Overall, this is a strong team that maintains the level of combat and intensity well. I think it’s not easy for any team to play in Kazan,” said the specialist, whose comment was quoted by the Zenit press service.
Ural will try to return to the top three, Lokomotiv will host Orenburg
In the first match on Sunday, Ekaterinburg Ural will take on Fakel Voronezh. “Ural” became one of the main sensations at the start of the season; for some time the team topped the standings, but in the last two games it suffered two defeats and is in fifth place with 13 points. If they win, Ural can move up to second place, but for this they need Zenit to lose their match. “Fakel” takes the last, 15th place in the standings, gaining four points.
The team’s results did not suit the management of the Voronezh club, so they dismissed head coach Vadim Evseev and appointed Sergei Tashuev, who worked in the Grozny Akhmat this season, to this post. Last season, Ural defeated Fakel at home with a score of 2:0, and played a draw away (0:0). The match will start at 14:00 Moscow time.
Football
Lokomotiv – Orenburg
The eighth round program will be completed by the match in Moscow between the capital’s Lokomotiv and Orenburg. The Railwaymen are in eighth place in the standings, with 12 points in seven matches, they are unbeaten in four meetings (two wins, two draws). “Orenburg”, after the team was led by the Spaniard David Deogracia, has not yet lost a single match, having won one victory and drawn once. The Orenburg team are in 14th position with five points.
Last season, Lokomotiv defeated Orenburg twice in RPL matches. The meeting in Moscow ended with a score of 5:1, and in Orenburg the guests won with a score of 4:1. The match between the teams will begin at 19:00 Moscow time.
2023-09-16 21:34:51
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