Dynamo M – Krasnodar

Dynamo should have an advantage over unstable Krasnodar

On Sunday, 25 August, Dynamo will play at home against Krasnodar. This is the centre match of Sunday in the RPL. Last season, the teams played for the championship in the last round, which eventually went to Zenit. Now, the balance is different - the Bulls are down a game, while Dynamo are still in contention for the gold medals. The Muscovites had a very decent start in the Russian championship. Marcel Licka's wards have taken maximum points in the first rounds, if we leave aside the confrontation with Zenit. At the same time, there was no failure in St. Petersburg: in an even match with a slight advantage of the champions, the victory went to the hosts. Dynamo has been lucky in many respects so far. If we take the distance of five rounds, the team conceded three goals less than expected. A very important factor of the improved defence is the new goalkeeper. Andrei Lunev replaced Igor Leshchuk and Anton Shunin. Instead of two unstable goalkeepers, the team got a reliable first option. Lunev is not yet the best goalkeeper in the league, but his level is enough to avoid the failures that accompanied Leshchuk. Krasnodar approaches the nearest confrontation, having a series of seven matches without defeat, three managed to win. At the same time, there is not even close to confidence in Murad Musayev's system. Firstly, in the match against CSKA, the injury to the Army's leading defender Willian Roshi had a very serious impact on the result, and secondly, Krasnodar still look very difficult in attack. Musayev's arrival was initially linked with a switch to a spectacular game, but that is nowhere near the case. With modest Pari NN the club agonised until the last minutes, the victory came out of sheer will. Krasnodar are also the only team not to have beaten Fakel this season. John Cordoba has surprisingly not scored a single goal so far. The footballer is literally failing the start of the season. The fatigue from the America's Cup is showing. Unexpectedly, the young striker Moses Cobnan started to help out. Before this season, the player almost did not benefit the Bulls, but in the match against Paris NN he scored a double. In any case, Cordoba's slump is a serious blow. Eduard Spertsyan is far from his best form amid rumours of his departure. Dynamo looks stronger by all indicators. The team has not only results, but also a set game. In addition, Marcel Licka has more options to strengthen in the second half - the bench is much stronger. There's also the home advantage - Krasnodar haven't won away yet. Interestingly, the two attacking teams don't always play efficiently: in the last eight meetings, five were draws.