Torpedo M – Khimki

Torpedo will have a good chance of scoring against Khimki

On Sunday, 7 August, Torpedo play at home against Khimki. The Muscovites finally managed to get their first point in the third round. "The Black and Whites played well against Krylia Sovetov on the road. The match was evenly matched. The visitors could even count on a two goal lead by half-time. Torpedo played with a little more emphasis on attack. Alexandr Borodiuk used a scheme with four defenders. There is a lack of performance in the attack, but it is the second number that the club performs well. Against Sochi and Dynamo, despite the defeats, they managed to organize counterattacks. Torpedo at the moment rightly looks like one of the main candidates for relegation. At the same time, the club is not hopeless in terms of play. An important reinforcement before the match with Khimki is the return of Ilya Kutepov. The player with RPL experience should help the team to stabilize their defense. The home team will have a special attitude towards Khimki. For the first time the team will be playing against a direct rival in the fight for survival. Torpedo will focus on victory and three points. Khimki's start is difficult to assess. Juran's team is the worst when it comes to ball possession. In the first round they managed to show some quality play against Zenit. Next came the rout of Nizhny Novgorod, but an unfortunate goalkeeping error by the Volga goalkeeper decided everything. Otherwise, their opponent didn't look any weaker. In Week 3, Khimki lost on the road to Rostov in one of the most boring games of this season. Only Resiuan Mirzov had any chances. Everything was created thanks to the player's individual skill. For the rest, Khimki lost rightfully. The team virtually lacked positional attacking play. The Moscow Region side rely on counterattacks and standard positions. That said, there's a problem with the centre forward. Rudenko and Adeyemi are not yet up to the RPL level. The bookmakers' line up for this match has some rather curious movements. At first, the opponents were given equal odds to win, but then there was a slippage in favor of Khimki. Juran's team already has odds of 2.20, although there is definitely no such difference in class between the opponents. Khimki themselves are not capable of playing under pressure. The level of players in the visitors is higher, but Torpedo can play for a win at home in a special matchup. It's far from certain that Khimki will be strongly against a peaceful outcome. Strategically, such a result would not be a failure. It's logical to assume that Torpedo will be able to pick up points and even hold the initiative. If the Black and Whites manage to score first, Khimki will have trouble breaking through a packed defense. The more skilled players from Krylya Sovetov had only managed this task once before.