CSKA – Baltika

CSKA will comfortably defeat the sensational leader

On Sunday, 28th September, CSKA will play against Baltika at home. This is the central match of the tenth round of the Russian championship. Both teams are among the top three in the tournament. Baltika has not lost a single match in the RPL yet – this is a record start for a newcomer to the league. The Baltic team has surprised the public with their stable performance. Each round, there have been expectations of a decline, but it seems that a gradual negative dynamic is starting to become visible. The match against Rostov was weak. Now, easy victories are expected from Baltika in such matches – the game turned out to be evenly matched. Rostov created many goal-scoring opportunities and was equal in terms of dangerous situations. At the same time, they managed to contain all of Baltika's attacking leaders. And after all, Rostov is the league's outsider and was playing away. Surprisingly, Baltika is performing well against top clubs. Andrey Talalaev's team demolished Spartak, drew with Dynamo in Moscow, and managed to secure draws against Lokomotiv and Zenit. Perhaps, playing as the underdog allows the team to exploit quick counterattacks and the strong qualities of their leaders. For example, in this type of football, the attacking defender Vladislav Sausy shines brighter. CSKA previously lost to Rostov, but in Sochi, they proved that this is certainly not a crisis. The Army Men defeated the RPL outsider, although not without difficulties. Concerns may arise from Igor Akinfeev’s declining form. The veteran made mistakes in two consecutive matches: against Rostov, he gifted the ball to the opponent and set up a goal against his own team, and in the match against Sochi, he conceded a goal from a long-range shot by Anton Zinkovsky – he could have dealt with that better. At the same time, CSKA has significant attacking potential. The Army Men acquired an impressive group of legionnaires in the final days of the transfer window. In the match against Sochi, Ramiro Di Luciano started on the pitch, and Henrique Carmo strengthened the game in the second half. Additionally, the long-suffering Rodrigo Villegas is finally regaining form. Bookmakers are giving a very solid coefficient of 1.90 on CSKA before the match. After all, the Army Men are playing at home, and their opponents are a club that competed in the First League last season. Let’s not forget that Baltika has had a bit of luck with the schedule: the club has played consecutively against Sochi and Akron. However, the Army Men have already been eliminated by them in the Russian Cup based on the aggregate score of two group stage matches. This is quite telling – CSKA's squad depth is much greater. Baltika appears overvalued before the match. It is doubtful that the guests will continue their successful streak. The Army Men are much stronger, and the odds on them are inflated – it’s worth taking advantage of this. It is likely that the odds will change on match day – bets will be placed on the home team.