Rostov – Lokomotiv M

The locomotive will still have an advantage.

On Sunday, November 30, Rostov will play at home against Lokomotiv. The Southerners are not solving big tasks this season, as they are trying to break away from the relegation playoff zone. Lokomotiv still has chances for the title, but the dynamics are negative – it’s already a traditional decline after a successful start. Rostov is currently performing above expectations, despite rumors of a forthcoming sale at the club. The inexperienced coach Jonathan Alba has not failed. The team is holding up well even in matches against the giants of the Russian championship. The only thing the coach has not managed to improve so far is the attacking play. It’s quite sad here: Rostov has scored only 12 goals in 16 matches. The only worse statistics are for Pari NN and Makhachkala’s Dynamo. For this match, Rostov has an important loss: key central defender Dmitry Chistyakov will not play. The player is suspended due to accumulating yellow cards. In the last round, Rostov unexpectedly lost to Krylia – 0:2. However, the mood was lifted in the cup meeting – they defeated Neftekhimik from the First League (3:1). Meanwhile, Lokomotiv had negative emotions in their cup match, losing to Spartak in the derby – 2:3. There was a slight positive, though: a beautiful goal by Alexey Batrakov – the midfielder scored well from a free kick. In the RPL, the league’s top scorer has not scored in three matches in a row. As of now, Lokomotiv has the best attack in the Russian championship: the Muscovites have scored 32 goals – which means an average of two goals per game. It’s important that the team only failed to score in one match: in the 14th round, they lost to Zenit (0:2). A positive news regarding the squad is the return of Sergey Pinyaev. One of the key players has finally recovered from an unpleasant injury. His participation is not in question. Moreover, it is very likely that he will start. The thing is, Zelimkhan Bakayev is suspended – which narrows down the options for Mikhail Galaktionov in attack. In their direct encounters, Lokomotiv and Rostov have a trend towards high-scoring football: in the first round, they played a 3:3 draw, and the goal exchange occurred in four out of five matches. However, bookmakers expect a cautious game. Rostov has only exceeded totals three times this season. Lokomotiv has no advantage in the betting line – the odds are almost equal. It is logical to assume that the Muscovites will still create more goal-scoring opportunities. Perhaps the return of Sergey Pinyaev will contribute to a breakthrough. Lokomotiv has only one victory in six matches – motivation should not be an issue.