Rostov – Krasnodar

The national champion redeems himself in the southern derby after the defeat in the previous round.

The Southern Derby is set to be the highlight of the tenth round of the Russian Premier League. Despite the fact that Rostov currently occupies eleventh place in the league table, the team has been showing a decent level of performance in recent weeks. Krasnodar, on the other hand, lost their second match of the season just a week ago. Playing at home the Bulls faced Zenit and were considered the favourites, but they conceded two unanswered goals from the St. Petersburg club. This defeat against the vice-champions of the country can be deemed disappointing. Musaev's side failed to convert numerous goal-scoring opportunities during the match, significantly outperforming their opponents in both xG and shots on target. In recent years, Krasnodar has responded well to defeats. The team truly possesses a championship character. For instance, after last year's heavy loss in St. Petersburg (1:4), the Bulls achieved three consecutive victories, and after losing to Lokomotiv at the start of the current season, they won four league matches. Bookmakers have named the guests as the favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 2.08 for their victory. After Valery Karpin's departure, Rostov has continued to play their usual style of football. The team strives to maintain their mid-table position in the Premier League. Recently, they have been performing quite well. Rostov's last defeat in the league was dated August 17. Since then, the Rostov team has drawn three times and won once. Although the victory was against nine players of CSKA, the opponents during this period have been quite formidable, including Lokomotiv, Akhmat, and Baltika. Despite such results, it seems that Rostov tends to achieve draws against strong opponents, playing at their 'maximum settings'. Before the unsuccessful match against Zenit, Krasnodar was demonstrating the best football in Russia. Between the defeats to Lokomotiv and the St. Petersburg club, the Bulls won eight matches in the league and cup, with the game against CSKA in Moscow ending in a draw. For the match against Rostov, the leader of the defence Diego Costa will return to the Krasnodar squad, and Alexander Chernikov is likely to recover. Murad Musaev knows how to beat Rostov well, as Krasnodar has won the last four Southern Derbies. The guests will be closer to victory.