Spartak M – Nizhnyi Novgorod

Spartak will not be able to defeat an organised Nizhny Novgorod

Spartak will take on Nizhny Novgorod at home on Sunday, 28 May. "The Red-Whites have significantly improved their chances of securing second place in the RPL after beating CSKA. Guillermo Abascal's charges need two wins. Nizhny Novgorod also remain extremely motivated. Volzhans will definitely not go out directly, but there are difficulties in avoiding the knockout stages. Spartak remain an enigma in 2023. The team has not won a single match by a clear margin and without controversial refereeing decisions. The championship race with Zenit has been transformed into a fight for medals. Yet all this is taking place against a backdrop of scandals and at times very weak play. Spartak have conceded in nine consecutive games in all competitions. Guillermo Abascal changes his attacking line-up almost every game. There is no hint of a stable starting combination. This was partly due to injuries. Now almost all the key performers are back in the squad. The factor should serve to stabilize the starting combination to some extent. Against Nizhny Novgorod, Abaskal is unlikely to field his team in a five-guard formation. He'll probably use a more attacking lineup. Nizhny Novgorod was, until the last round, the worst team in the Russian league, based on advanced statistics. In particular, the club did not create chances on average of even one goal per game, according to XG. The confrontation with Sochi energized the players with optimism. The first half did not turn out too well, and then, perhaps, it was Sergei Yuran's setting. Volzhan scored four goals against the visitors and also provoked a suspension. Yuran did not abandon a very defensive scheme. This is because the level of players in the attacking line is too low. Apart from Suleymanov, there are no players who are consistently productive. In the last match Denis Glushakov was saved by the coach. Also, the coach gave up using the big goal-scorer Jansane. In other words, the coach is searching for his options regarding the squad. Sokolov and Banyak will be unavailable for Nizhny Novgorod due to injuries. Spartak will once again face an organized defensive struggle from an outsider. Nizhny Novgorod does not look like an easy walk for the Red and White. In their game against Dynamo, for example, Volzhsky suffered a collapse in the closing stages, although up until the middle of the second half they had every intention of winning. Nizhny Novgorod will only think about attacking if they concede two goals. A difficult matchup looms for the Red and White, with many goals unlikely to come.