Dynamo M – Spartak M

Spartak don’t look favourites to win the Cup

On Sunday, 11 May, Dynamo will play at home against Spartak. This is a key meeting in the fight for bronze medals. Spartak is still one point ahead of Dinamo, but one point behind CSKA. Spartak brought the season close to disappointment with two consecutive disappointing matches in the RPL. First came a defeat against CSKA followed by an even more unexpected misfire in the match against Fakel. So far, only the Cup of Russia saves the situation. Another issue is that the club need to prioritise now: next week will see a cup game against Rostov. It's doubtful that Dejan Stankovic will field the same lineup for the two games. The Cup is definitely more important now. If Spartak are left without any trophies at all, there will be questions for the coaching staff. Ezequiel Barko and Srdjan Babic will definitely be able to return to the pitch in the match with Dinamo. They were sorely missed in Voronezh. But Ruslan Litvinov is now added to the list of disqualified. Not the worst loss for Dejan Stankovic. Alexis Duarte may play. Dinamo have an experimental finish of the season with Rolan Gusev. The club made a quick decision to dismiss Marcel Licka after the Russian Cup exit. The coach failed to fulfil the set tasks, although there are still chances for medals. Gusev had a great start in his new role. Dynamo played a brilliant match in Samara against Krylia Sovetov. Yaroslav Gladyshev cannot stop. The midfielder retrained into a striking scorer. In Samara the talent made a double. Gladyshev is already among the top scorers of the Russian championship. The striker has scored ten goals. He also has five assists. Gusev is unlikely to radically change the game, but more emphasis on defence is possible. The coach will definitely not repeat the mistakes of his experienced colleague. With Lichka, Dynamo had a special style, relying on risk. Now a cold-blooded scenario is possible. Bookmakers put Dynamo as the underdog even in the home match. The clubs have recently played in the Cup. Spartak won 2:1 at their stadium, but there was no total advantage. "Red and white" are not in the best shape, we should not forget about the Cup factor. The club will probably choose another tournament and save their strength. Dinamo has a small positive effect from the change of coach. Gladyshev is an important factor. The young player can win matches virtually single-handedly on the spur of the moment. It is not a fact that the derby will be very effective. The teams can pragmatically defend the minimum advantage, taking into account the tournament situation.