Spartak M – Zenit

Zenit cannot be considered an outsider

On Sunday, 16 March, there will be perhaps the key match in the fight for the championship title. Spartak will play at home against Zenit. "The Red-Whites are three points behind the St. Petersburg club. A defeat would be virtually fatal in the championship race. It will be very difficult to regain six points in nine rounds. Spartak had won seven games in a row before the match with Rubin. Dejan Stankovic's team is one step away from repeating Oleg Romantsev's record. Spartak lost in Kazan, not entirely out of hand. Still, there were plenty of scoring chances. The defence made one gross mistake: defender Daniil Denisov caused a goal by making an inaccurate pass close to his own goal. In midweek, Spartak improved the mood by beating Akron in the Russian Cup. The coach used the rotation ahead of the meeting with Zenit. Interestingly, so far Spartak doesn't have much upside after the transfers of Pablo Solari and Levi Garcia. There are especially a lot of questions about the forward of the Trinidad and Tobago national team. The most expensive footballer in Spartak's history is still without goals. The striker is still far from his best form and will not be in the starting lineup for an important match in the championship. The main news of the week in connection with Zenit is the disqualification of key midfielder Wendel. The Brazilian showed a foul gesture to Fakel fans. The footballer was suspended for one match. Just the disqualification will be imposed on the decisive game against Spartak. Wendel is an almost indispensable player for Zenit. Sergei Semak will have to look for options - it is possible that Maxim Glushenkov will play deeper this time or Douglas Santos will move into the centre of the pitch. It's hard to assess Zenit based on the matches played so far. Against CSKA, the team was clearly capable of more. A zero draw is not a failure, but there was no dominance. Then Zenit won the scandalous match in Voronezh, and after that the reserve team defeated Rostov in the Russian Cup. More was expected from Luis Enrique. So far, the Brazilian is just getting used to the Russian realities. The footballer may remain in the reserves for the key game. For the first time in seven years, Zenit are outsiders in the lineup against Spartak. This arrangement is explained precisely by the absence of Wendel. At the same time, the Red-Whites are highly overrated. The team in 2025 looks much weaker than in the autumn. And another important factor is the absence of centre-back Alexis Duarte. The footballer is disqualified due to a suspension in Kazan. Zenit are unlikely to play second best and hold on for a draw. There is also an important factor of personal motivation: Maxim Glushenkov and Alexander Sobolev want revenge against Spartak. Odds of 3.00 are a little too high on the visitors.