Zenit – Torpedo M

Zenit won’t finish off a hopeless outsider in the second half

On Sunday, August 21, Zenit will play at home against Torpedo. The match turns out to be a special one in terms of odds. You can bet on the underdog in this game for odds above 20.00. This is a record of the season. At Torpedo, after five rounds, there have already been serious changes. Aleksandr Borodiuk has officially been sent off. The coach is expected to be replaced by Aleksandr Kerzhakov in the near future. Changes in the managerial team are also expected. It is expected that Ilya Gerkus will take over as the president. The management have also announced transfers. Currently, Torpedo look like the weakest team in the league. In attack, veterans Lebedenko and Ryazantsev are at the forefront. It was hard to imagine them at an RPL club in 2022. "The Black and Whites have themselves scored two goals from the game in five rounds. There have also been no positives in defence. Ilya Kutepov's debut was marked by nervous play and a straight red card. Now the former Spartak defender will not play in St Petersburg, but in his current form it cannot be said that this is a serious loss. Torpedo are actually going away to the champion under a rout. It's as if the teams are from different planets. Zenit without Claudinho managed to beat CSKA in a nervy match. There was no question in the first half but after the break the Army team looked better. Even without Claudinho, Semak has a huge lineup of players in attack, which now features newcomer Mantuan. It is possible that he will be in the starting lineup for the match with Torpedo, given that Bakayev has not yet shown himself in official games. The defender Karavaev is still on injured reserve. In defence Zenit have objective difficulties. At the same time the combination of Rodrigao and Lovren is progressing. On the flanks, there has also been an increase in reliability. Zenit have conceded just one goal in their last three games, despite the criticism of their defenders and goalkeepers. By all accounts, it looks like a one-sided encounter. Another issue is that Zenit usually have problems with motivation for matches against the middles and outsiders. Torpedo will not even think about attacking. Regardless of the coach, the club will enter the field with the idea of not conceding much. Any counterattacks are unlikely. The Black and Whites will probably line up in a 5-4-1 formation. Zenit are unlikely to experience difficulties in picking up three points, but a global rout is unlikely. First, after their games against Lokomotiv and CSKA, Torpedo are no longer such an irritant. Secondly, Zenit often defeat the big names and their neighbours in the standings. The underdogs get away with less. The club score two or three goals in a classic manner and take the game to victory. We cannot rule out a scenario in which Zenit score in the first half, and the second half simply becomes a formality.