Zenit St. Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow!
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Although similar on paper, CSKA Moscow look a lot better than Zenit St. Petersburg right now. I mean, I don’t rate Mancini as a manager anyway but nobody can do this Zenit St. Petersburg job nowadays. The players are mercenaries that don’t give a shit so there’s no team spirit nor belief. They have enough talented individuals to beat any team in Russia but they don’t just don’t care. I still don’t know how they got a 3-3 draw at Arsenal Tula last weekend; they were completely outplayed in that game!
It’s not even about the absence of star Argentinian defender Mammana either. Yes, it does make them weaker in defence but it’s in midfield where they’re losing games. Kranevitter is a good playmaker, as is Paredes, but other than Kokorin, where is the pace? They look like stereotypical Russian footballers, Zenit St. Petersburg – big, slow, and awkward. They’re not hard to defend against for that reason. I was never a huge fan of Hulk because of his inconsistency but at least he was unpredictable with his pace and and dribbling, not to mention his power. There’s nobody in this Zenit St. Petersburg side that cannot be handled nowadays and with their best defender out, it seems very logical to me that a good side can upset them.
That side could and should be CSKA Moscow. It’s not the best CSKA Moscow I have ever seen, and boy do they need to find themselves a proper finisher! However, they’ve got a bloody good manager in former BATE Borisov boss Goncharenko. Tactically, they look spot on under him. He can get the best out of the players that they’ve got and that should be enough for them to score three points off overrated Zenit St. Petersburg here.
What CSKA Moscow bring to this game is speed in attack, two good playmakers, a boatload of experience and cohesion in defence, and a will of steel. As a unit, CSKA Moscow are the best side in Russia, for me, especially now they have Musa back instead of it just being Vitinho providing the pace. They work hard, they believe in themselves, and they also have some really promising youngsters coming through. CSKA Moscow look impressive, even if their composure in front of goal is not. They’re smarter than most – if not all – Russian teams and they should be able to prove that today, even against a supposed equal.
My view is that CSKA Moscow will nick this one. They certainly shouldn’t lose it.
Verdict: CSKA Moscow to win with draw no bet at evens.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Argentinian Superliga:
Gimnasia de la Plata vs Boca Juniors
Patronato vs San Lorenzo de Almagro
Belgrano de Cordoba vs Colon de Santa Fe
River Plate vs Estudiantes de la Plata
Racing Club Avellaneda vs Arsenal de Sarandi
Austrian Bundesliga:
Sturm Graz vs Rapid Vienna
St. Polten vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
RSC Anderlecht vs Sporting Charleroi
AA Gent vs Standard de Liege
Beerschot-Wilrijk vs Antwerp
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs Corinthians
Parana vs Sport Recife
Bahia vs Atletico Paranaense
Fluminense vs Sao Paulo
Ceara vs Flamengo
Internacional vs Cruzeiro
Bulgarian A PFG:
Beroe vs Levski Sofia
Botev Plovdiv vs CSKA Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Rudes vs Cibalia Vinkovci
Slaven Koprivnica vs Hajduk Split
Czech Republic HET Liga:
Slavia Prague vs Slovacko
Teplice vs Sigma Olomouc
Zlin vs Bohemians 1905
Baumit Jablonec vs Slovan Liberec
Danish Superligaen:
FC Midtjylland vs Aalborg BK
Brondby vs FC Nordsjaelland
SonderjyskE vs OB Odense
Lyngby vs Randers
English Premier League:
West Ham United vs Manchester City
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tulevik vs Vaprus
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
B36 Torshavn vs KI Klaksvik
HB Torshavn vs 07 Vestur Sorvagur
Vikingur Gotu vs TB/FCS/Royn
AB Argir vs NSI Runavik
EB/Streymur vs Skala
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
VPS Vaasa vs HJK Helsinki
KuPS Kuopio vs FC Lahti
Ilves vs SJK
PS Kemi Kings vs IFK Mariehamn
French Ligue 1:
Stade Rennais vs Toulouse
Angers SCO vs Olympique de Marseille
Paris Saint-Germain vs En Avant Guingamp
German Bundesliga:
Mainz 05 vs RB Leipzig
Werder Bremen vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Haifa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
MS Ashdod vs Hapoel Ashkelon
Italian Serie A:
Crotone vs Sassuolo
Sampdoria vs Cagliari
Atalanta Bergamo vs Genoa
Bologna vs AC Milan
Hellas Verona vs SPAL
Benevento vs Udinese
ACF Fiorentina vs SSC Napoli
Torino vs SS Lazio
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Kauno Zalgiris vs Atlantas Klaipeda
Stumbras vs Trakai
Dutch Eredivisie:
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Sparta Rotterdam
NAC Breda vs Heerenveen
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs AZ Alkmaar
Heracles Almelo vs FC Utrecht
Vitesse Arnhem vs Twente Enschede
VVV Venlo vs Roda JC Kerkrade
Groningen vs Excelsior Rotterdam
ADO Den Haag vs PSV Eindhoven
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Odd
Sandefjord vs Brann Bergen
Tromso vs Kristiansund
Sarpsborg 08 vs Bodo/Glimt
Start Kristiansand vs Haugesund
Stromsgodset vs Rosenborg BK
Portuguese Liga 1:
Rio Ave vs Chaves
Boavista vs Pacos de Ferreira
Maritimo Funchal vs FC Porto
Belenenses vs Sporting Braga
Portuguese Liga 2:
Sporting Covilha vs Academica de Coimbra
FC Porto II vs Sporting Braga II
Academico Viseu vs Gil Vicente
Real vs Cova Piedade
Varzim vs Sporting Clube de Portugal II
Arouca vs Penafiel
SL Benfica II vs Vitoria Guimaraes II
Famalicao vs Uniao Madeira
UD Oliveirense vs Santa Clara
Russian Premier League:
Amkar Perm’ vs Spartak Moscow
Zenit St. Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow
FK Rostov vs Tosno
Spanish Primera Liga:
Getafe vs Girona
Deportivo Alaves vs Atletico Madrid
Valencia CF vs Eibar
Deportivo La Coruna vs Barcelona CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
GIF Sundsvall vs Elfsborg Boras
Djurgarden vs Hammarby
IFK Norrkoping vs Trelleborg FF
Kalmar FF vs Malmo FF
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs Thun
Lugano vs St. Gallen
FC Zurich vs Sion
Swiss Challenge League:
Rapperswil-Jona vs Wohlen
Turkish Super Lig:
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Akhisarspor
Osmanlispor vs Istanbul BB
Galatasaray vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!