Spartak M – CSKA

CSKA is definitely not weaker than Spartak before the game

On Saturday, 26 April, Spartak and CSKA will play in an emotional derby. The Army men have dropped out of the championship race. It is no longer possible to reach Krasnodar. But for Spartak, the race remains active: the gap from the leader is now five points. There is a theoretical possibility. Bookmakers give 12.00 on the title to Dejan Stankovic's team. Spartak is playing much worse than in the first part of the season, although it seems to have significantly strengthened the squad. Pablo Solari and Levi Garcia are not yet the leaders of the club. A huge problem is the regression of Manfred Ugalde. The Costa Rican only scored in the first meeting with Orenburg. Further, Ugalde has slumped so much that he stopped getting into the starting lineup of his team. Dejan Stankovic favours the option with Levi on the attacking edge in some matches. At the same time, Ugalde will probably be out against CSKA. One of the last big games for a foreigner before transfer - motivation must be there. Spartak can't solve their defensive problems in recent matches. The club conceded two goals from Dinamo Makhachkala and the same number from Akron. The injury of the main goalkeeper Alexander Maksimenko adds to the problems. At the same time understudy Ilya Pomazun played quite well. It's very likely that Maksimenko won't be out against CSKA either. Pomazun will be facing his former team. CSKA is the strongest club of the spring in terms of points. The team has yet to lose a single game, but too much was lost in the first part of the season. In this regard, a late surge did not help them get back into the gold medal race. The Army Men have slumped a bit in recent matches. Perhaps it's the two-front workload. The team failed to defeat Dynamo in the second leg of the RPL semi-final, but went through. But with Krylia it was not possible to run away with 1:0 - the Samarians scored from the penalty spot. In any case, CSKA now look ready for any opponent. The matches against Zenit and Dynamo were indicative. The Army Men have a certain confidence in attack. Forwards Sekou Koyta and Saul Guaripapa have added significantly. The odds on CSKA are somewhat surprising. The odds on the Army Men are at 4.00. Spartak are rated as clear favourites at 2.00. There is clearly no such difference between the clubs right now. An important factor is the weather. They promise snow and frost. This factor equalises the teams. Spartak will definitely not be able to combine and play fine passing. It's logical to assume that CSKA will create several scoring chances with a revitalised attack. The defence is Spartak's weak spot, and Ugalde has stopped producing results in attack. There's also the officiating factor. In recent matches, the referees have been positive towards the Red-Whites. Now they can act tougher.