CSKA – Spartak M

Spartak does not look like the favourite ahead of the derby.

On Sunday, October 5, CSKA will play at home against Spartak. An astonishing scenario is currently being noted regarding the odds – the army team is considered the underdog, despite leading in the Russian championship. CSKA is navigating through the tournament distance very confidently. Surprisingly, the change of coach has not caused any problems. The Swiss Fabio Celestini continues the club's overall focus on developing young talent. CSKA has suffered only one defeat – losing away to Rostov. In all other matches, the army team confidently took points. For example, they held their ground in St. Petersburg and had quality games against Krasnodar and Dynamo. It is important that numerous newcomers are gradually adapting. CSKA currently has a fairly large resource for rotation. The army team managed to squeeze out a win against Baltika in the last match thanks to numerous substitutions. Igor Diveev scored the winning goal at the very end. Matvey Kislak has become the leader in midfield. The Russian is statistically one of the best players in the league. Currently, CSKA is not facing difficulties with injured players. Kirill Glebov has quickly recovered from a minor injury – there are no significant losses before the derby. Rodrigo Vilhena is definitely not ready to play – the Argentine has not regained his form yet. Spartak is currently experiencing a positive period. The "Red-Whites" have won two consecutive matches in the Russian championship, but it is important to properly assess the level of opposition: the club competed against Pari NN and Krylia Sovetov – both matches were in Moscow. This means that the odds were initially in favour of the hosts. There are still no wins against top clubs in the current championship. Spartak has now gathered even more than two squads – there is simply insane competition for some positions. For example, the main player of the Serbian national team, Srdjan Babic, has transformed into a substitute – this is a big surprise. Once the leader of the club, Theo Bongonda, has recovered from injury – he is now also a reserve. A bright spot for Spartak is the performance of Jheison Murillo. The most expensive player in the club's history is earning his money. Murillo has already recorded four goal involvements in the RPL and scored the winning goal in the previous match against Pari NN in the Russian Cup. It seems somewhat strange that CSKA is the underdog. The army team is playing at home – last season they confidently beat Spartak both at home and away. In terms of squad level, there may be a slight advantage for the "Red-Whites"; however, CSKA operates as a coaching collective. In contrast, Spartak's Dejan Stankovic relies more on improvisation. Additionally, the Serbian will not be on the sidelines at all. This could have a negative impact. Fabio Celestini has more options for managing the game. It is reasonable to assume that CSKA will not concede.