CSKA – Rubin

CSKA will not have an easy win

On Saturday, 30 November, CSKA will play against Rubin in a match of the 17th round of the Russian championship. The teams are unexpectedly neighbours in the standings. CSKA, in case of defeat, risks dropping out of the fight for bronze medals. The Kazan team is solving the problem of survival in the league with reserves. Notably, the teams will play each other for the third time in a month. CSKA defeated Rubin in the return match of the Russian Cup, using their main performers. The Army men slightly reduced the negative pressure after the failure in the meeting with Rostov. There are more and more public opinions about changing the coach. Marko Nikolic has not made progress with the club, if we compare with Vladimir Fedotov's results. CSKA can only be proud of their defence at the moment: the advanced stats are better only with Spartak, the Army men rightly concede less than a goal per game. The attack, on the other hand, is sixth in the league in terms of chances created. There are almost no injuries at the club right now. Only young player Vladislav Yakovlev is in the infirmary. Rubin is solving its tasks in the Russian championship. The departure to the Russian Cup regions is a local blunder. At the same time, Rashid Rakhimov's team may have motivation problems in the near future: it will be very difficult to catch up even with CSKA, while the rivals below are much weaker and do not threaten Rubin's position in the RPL. In fact, they need to win 2-3 more matches for a quiet finish. Against this backdrop, the club may lose results. In the last round Rubin defeated Akron on their field with a score of 3:0. The Kazan club is dangerous in the championship and in away matches: they lost only to Spartak and Lokomotiv on the road. At the same time, both meetings were very tightly fought and ended with a one goal difference. The injury situation also looks favourable. Rubin is missing only midfielder Aleksandar Jukic. All the others are ready to play. Mirlind Daku is still in top form. The Albanian is among the top five scorers. It's doubtful that CSKA will easily defeat their opponents, even at home. Firstly, Rashid Rakhimov has an excellent opportunity to work on mistakes after the Cup. Secondly, Kazan will have a more serious squad in the championship. The odds on CSKA at 1.80 look too low. Rubin is capable of playing a decent away game against any opponent in the RPL. The weather factor is also important. Now the games should be less effective because of the first frosts. The match will be played in a strong wind. This is just to Rubin's advantage - it's easier to defend.