Zenit St.Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
Our in-play service continues to make profit so click here if you are interested in a free trial!
There are 5 banker and 12 value tip in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see them + team news!
Zenit St.Petersburg welcome reigning champions Spartak Moscow to the newly-built Krestovsky Stadium for the first time, hoping to beat them to keep their excellent early season Premier League form going. However, if they play anything like they did on Thursday night versus Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv then they’re going to find it really bloody hard to do so!
Still, these are two bitter rivals nowadays. There tends to be plenty of cards in this fixture, and plenty of entertainment too. I suppose it also helps that both teams are more attack-minded than tactical nowadays, too. That tends to lead to more high-scoring games. Indeed, their last four meetings have all cruised over 2.5 goals, and more could have been scored in at least three of them.
Interestingly, the odds on the home win have been dropping of late. I can’t say I really follow that pattern. I don’t think Spartak Moscow are that good – in fact, I think they’ll struggle in Europe big time – but I just don’t think that Zenit St.Petersburg are either, and their display on Thursday night proved it perfectly. They may have splashed the cash on some very impressive names like Mammana, Driussi, and Paredes, but that doesn’t magically make them into a team. Individually, Zenit St.Petersburg are the best team in Russia for my money. Collectively, they’re nowhere near because they don’t function as a unit.
I look at their attack and see goals – Kokorin, Driussi, and Dzyuba are all handfuls. Giuliano, Paredes, and Zhirkov in midfield will create chances for anybody. They’ve got a good combinations at the back with ball-players and brutes too. The pieces are there; they just need a good manager to bring them together. Unfortunately, Zenit St.Petersburg figured that the best man to do that was overrated Mancini, and that got a big “lol” from me, I can tell you. If he’s still in charge of this club at the end of the season, I will be stunned. He’s done very little as a manager but dominate Italy with Internazionale when their biggest rivals were demoted/docked points (after stealing their players!) and to win the league with Manchester City once upon a time. I really do not think he has what it takes to succeed at such a complex club, and although I feel he was harshly treated during his last stint in charge of Internazionale, I do not think he has what it takes to succeed in Russia.
I don’t think Spartak Moscow are in the greatest of places right now themselves but it’s still the best they’ve been for some time. Personally, I attribute it to Carrera, their Italian boss. I honestly didn’t think he’d have what it takes to manage such a volatile team but he’s done remarkably well. He’s added more mental stability to a team that is already good (at least individually) and that was enough to win them the title. Well, that and Zenit St.Petersburg and CSKA Moscow disappearing.
Spartak Moscow have done very little to reinforce their squad pre-season, which should be very worrying for their fans. I suppose it makes a nice change for them to not splash the cash, and it’s got to be seen as a huge boost that star attacker Promes is still in town. I like that they’ve loaned Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder Pasalic, too – he’s a very good player. However, they’re going to be competing on two fronts this season and somehow they’re to do that when they’ve only got a strong starting eleven? I don’t buy it. When it comes to the UEFA Champions League, I think they’re really going to struggle this year.
You have to bear in mind that their style will only succeed in Russia, too. They’re basically a team that sits on the ball and waits for Promes to make something happen and Ze Luis to finish it. Domestically, that’s just peachy, particularly with Luiz Adriano as an alternative attacker to Ze Luis, but they do not play well enough collectively to cope in Europe. They don’t keep teams away from their goal at all, and they’re not good enough on the ball. However, in Russia, they’re going to be ok, I am sure. They’ve still got winger Popov and Georgian playmaker Ananidze, as well as Russian battle-axe Glushakov, so they’ve got enough to cope domestically. They’ve got experienced players too, and with Carrera seemingly having the key to motivating this rabble of crazies, I trust them to turn up for games like this one. They’ve only got Tasci (injured) and Bocchetti that can defend, mind you, and good teams will exploit that, particularly given how attack-minded they are. Again, though, they’ve got enough firepower themselves to cope in Russia – just not outside it.
I think that Spartak Moscow are good enough to avoid defeat here but given the intensity of this fixture, I will not touch the 1×2 market. I expect cards, so take a punt there if you wish, but my tip will be over 2.5 goals at decent odds.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
No freebies today so good luck if you’re betting!
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.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Wolfsberger AC vs SCR Altach
Rapid Vienna vs Austria Vienna
SV Mattersburg vs Sturm Graz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent vs Antwerp
RSC Anderlecht vs KV Oostende
Club Brugge vs AS Eupen
Brazilian Serie A:
Flamengo vs Vitoria
Palmeiras vs Atletico Paranaense
Cruzeiro vs Botafogo
Coritiba vs Chapecoense
Gremio vs Atletico Mineiro
Bahia vs Sao Paulo
Ponte Preta vs Vasco da Gama
Avai vs Santos
Bulgarian A PFG:
CSKA Sofia vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb vs Hajduk Split
Czech Republic Synot Liga:
Baumit Jablonec vs Viktoria Plzen
Vysocina Jihlava vs Slovacko
Banik Ostrava vs Slavia Prague
Danish Superligaen:
Lyngby vs FC Nordsjaelland
FC Helsingfor vs FC Midtjylland
OB Odense vs Aalborg BK
Brondby vs FC Copenhagen
English Community Shield:
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
Vikingur Gotu vs HB Torshavn
EB/Streymur vs KI Klaksvik
NSI Runavik vs TB/FCS/Royn
Skala vs 07 Vestur Sorvagur
B36 Torshavn vs IF Fuglafjordur
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
HJK Helsinki vs FC Lahti
IFK Mariehamn vs SJK
VPS Vaasa vs PS Kemi Kings
Finnish Ykkonen:
GRIFK vs Ekenas IF
French Ligue 1:
Lille OSC vs Nantes Atlantique
Angers SCO vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Olympique de Marseille vs Dijon FCO
Hungarian OTP Bank Liga:
Debreceni VSC vs Ferencvaros
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Fehervar
Ujpest vs Vasas Budapest
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Jonava vs Trakai
Suduva Marijampole vs Stumbras
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Odd vs Sogndal
Sarpsborg 08 vs Haugesund
Stabaek vs Sandefjord
Tromso vs Molde FK
Viking Stavanger vs Lillestrom
Aalesund FK vs Brann Bergen
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Desportivo Aves vs Sporting Clube de Portugal
Vitoria Setubal vs Moreirense
Portuguese Segunda Liga:
Sporting Braga II vs Uniao Madeira
Sporting Covilha vs Sporting Clube de Portugal II
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Penafiel
Cova Piedade vs Santa Clara
Academico Viseu vs Academica de Coimbra
Famalicao vs Arouca
FC Porto II vs Gil Vicente
Varzim vs Vitoria Guimaraes II
Real vs Leixoes Matosinhos
Russian Premier League:
Arsenal Tula vs Tosno
CSKA Moscow vs Rubin Kazan’
Zenit St.Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow
FK Krasnodar vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Hammarby vs BK Hacken Goteborg
GIF Sundsvall vs Ostersunds FK
Kalmar FF vs IFK Goteborg
Sirius vs AIK Solna
Swiss Super League:
Luzern vs Grasshopper Zurich
St.Gallen vs Sion
Young Boys Bern vs Lausanne Sport
Swiss Challenge League:
Neuchatel Xamax vs Vaduz
Turkish Super Cup:
Besiktas JK vs Konyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!