Sochi – CSKA

CSKA should continue their winning streak

On Saturday, 30 March, CSKA will play away against Sochi. The Army Men are back in the medal race, but there is no margin for error - they need a winning streak. Sochi is in a fatal position: the club has a five-point gap even from the knockout zone and no wins with a new coach. CSKA perked up in Samara, beating Krylia 2-0. The Army men won thanks to two standard positions. But the offence is still questionable. Barring the cup game with Rostov, the forwards have no goals in 2024. At the same time, CSKA remains a stable team with a rather serious lack of luck this season. There are also questions about the quality of Igor Akinfeev's play. The experienced goalkeeper is performing weaker than he did last season. The sad news for CSKA is a new injury to Igor Diveev. The defender is out for a long period of time, and the season actually looks finished. Meaning Fedotov will need to go back to experimenting with a trio of defenders. The loss doesn't look fatal, given the two quality internationals in the form of Moises and Willian Rocha. Sochi started a total revolution in the winter. The roster has been renewed by more than fifty per cent. For example, in the game with Lokomotiv, five new players took the field at once. We managed to achieve a draw, as in the match with Baltika earlier. Another issue is that two points at the current stage of the season is very little from a tournament point of view. Sochi have no global breakthrough so far, and there is very little time to save themselves. The team is under serious pressure. It makes sense that not all the rookies have adapted yet. Some are not even in the lineup. Experienced defenceman Chistyakov is sitting in the reserves in Sochi. In terms of quality of play, the South Koreans have made some progress. In particular, it concerns the offensive line. According to XG, the club created more chances than top teams in two games. The big problem for Sochi before the game with CSKA is Vladimir Fedotov's persona. Firstly, the coach left the club not very nicely, but he himself harboured a grudge against his former team. Secondly, for a long time and successfully coached the players. That is, he knows all the secrets of many players, although there are not many of them left. Thirdly, CSKA wants to get back into the medal race and has no shortage of motivation. Fedotov's club looks like a fair favourite, but odds above two seem inflated. The Army Men, even without Diveyev, should have a big advantage. Here the team has a good chance to score one or two goals and calmly control the meeting. CSKA defeated Sochi in the first round in a difficult match, although there were a lot of juniors on the field.