Zenit – Krasnodar

The guests will not lose and will keep first place in the championship.

The centerpiece of the entire second round of the Russian Premier League is scheduled for Sunday evening in Saint Petersburg. Zenit and Krasnodar, prudently distancing themselves from the chasing pack consisting of Lokomotiv, Baltika and CSKA, who about a month and a half ago were in close proximity to the two leaders of Russian football. Zenit are one point behind their archrival, but such a gap is unlikely to trouble the coaching staff and players of the blue-white-blue before the upcoming meeting. The team's play causes far more concern in the Saint Petersburg community. On Wednesday Zenit, after a series of penalties, were eliminated from the Russian Cup by Moscow Spartak. And in general, in nine official matches in 2026 the Sergei Semak's side has won only two games without much question. Their opponents in those games were Krylia Sovetov and Moscow Dynamo. Questions for Sergei Bogdanovich are piling up and could snowball. In this regard, tension and some uncertainty in their own strength may complicate the task for the blue-white-blue. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.98 on them. Despite all the personnel problems of recent weeks, Krasnodar have stayed in the saddle in both national competitions. In the middle of the current week the Bulls, with about half of the starting lineup, managed to bring the first leg of the Russian Cup's RPL Path final against Dynamo to a draw, which carries certain psychological advantages ahead of the home match. In the championship, Murad Musaev's team sits in first place, which it would lose if they lose to a direct rival. Yet match after match the players show character, grinding out the necessary results. The personnel situation in the Bulls' camp has also stabilized. In Saint Petersburg the champion will be able to play with a squad as close as possible to the starting lineup. Only the injured Viktor Sa and Alexander Chernikov, who was sent off in Grozny, will not take part, and he had already lost his place in Krasnodar's starting lineup anyway. Despite Zenit's head-to-head advantage, we will back the visitors to avoid defeat.