Krasnodar – Krylia Sovetov

Krasnodar will not crush the outsider

On Sunday, November 30, Krasnodar will play at home against Krylia Sovetov. The "Bulls" topped the championship after the 16th round, now one point ahead of CSKA and Zenit. Krylia Sovetov are also in a positive mood: they ended a long winless streak in the championship and advanced past KAMAZ in the Russian Cup in a penalty shootout. Krasnodar stands out with championship stability – there have been no failures this season. In the previous match against Lokomotiv in Moscow, the southerners were closer to victory, creating more scoring chances. Now Murad Musaev is helped by a favorable squad situation. This season, the southerners have almost no injuries. Sometimes John Cordoba is let down by suspensions, but the player has already returned successfully – there have been no new emotional outbursts so far. He will definitely play against Krylia. Eduard Spertsyan is also going for a personal record: the Krasnodar midfielder already has 16 goal contributions – averaging one per match. Krasnodar clearly has a trend toward attacking football: if we include the Russian Cup, it turns out that there has been a strict betting trend on exchanged goals in five consecutive matches. At the same time, Krasnodar has not lost in a long time. The last failure was a home defeat to Zenit in the championship. A minor drawback is that Alexander Chernikov will not play. The tough midfielder is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards. For the match against Krylia, it is not a fatal loss. The Samaritans surprised in the last round by beating Rostov. Bookmakers offered odds of 3.30 for Krylia's victory. The team finally ended a three-month winless streak. Thus, Krylia saved Magomed Adiev from dismissal. The coach publicly stated that he was ready for termination. The Samaritans are on a pretty working schedule: 11th place, 17 points, and now a positive finish. The squad is very modest – it could have been much worse. Vadim Rakov's injury was also unfortunate. The young player was one of the best forwards in the championship in the first rounds and even led the scoring race; then injuries followed. In the match against Rostov, Krylia played without a traditional forward – a scheme with mobile attacking players worked. Ivan Oleinikov is currently the brain center of the Samaritans' attacks. Ilzat Akhmetov, who was written off, is also having a decent season. Krasnodar is the obvious favorite. At the same time, Magomed Adiev is a master at setting up a defensive system. Krylia has not failed this season, especially away matches. The only mishap occurred in their home match against… Krasnodar. In the first round, Krylia conceded six goals. Such a scenario is unlikely now. Krasnodar is unlikely to aim for a repeat of that outcome. It is reasonable to anticipate a pragmatic victory by a margin of one or two goals.