CSKA – Lokomotiv M

The Army club won't be able to beat Lokomotiv's fellow Muscovites.

CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv will play their second meeting of the barely started season. The first match between the rivals took place in the group stage of the Russian Cup's Russian Premier League Path. Back then, for most of the game the CSKA players who opened the scoring held the initiative. However, at the end of the match Lokomotiv seized the advantage and converted it into an equalizing goal. In the penalty shootout, the 'Army men' were luckier. Ahead of the upcoming meeting in the Premier League, both clubs face problems. Recently, Lokomotiv's squad lost Aleksei Batrakov — who completed a record transfer for the 'railwaymen'. Galatasaray paid 25 million euros for the player. Unfortunately, at Lokomotiv they are already accustomed to the club being unable to keep its leaders. Before this, the squad of Mikhail Galaktionov saw Dmitry Barinov and Dmitry Vorobyov leave. There are rumors that Artyom Karpukas is packing his bags. The other thing is that this transfer policy of the club has a favorable effect on the Lokomotiv coach. In a situation where many players are leaving, it's unlikely anyone would directly blame Galaktionov for Lokomotiv not having secured a single win in official matches this season. This is while Lokomotiv's opponents have included Orenburg, Akron Togliatti, Akhmat, and Rostov. It goes without saying that in each of these meetings Lokomotiv was considered the favorite. The situation at CSKA looks more stable from a personnel standpoint, but the club's results are mediocre. At the end of last season, CSKA were briefly led by Dmitry Igdissamov. After failing to achieve the goals in the Russian Cup, CSKA made the surprising decision to appoint this coach on a permanent basis. Having a decent pool of players at his disposal, Igdissamov has not yet managed to establish a high-quality style of play for the team. In particular, criticisms arise of the attacking line, where Tamerlan Musaev and Luciano Gondo cannot perform at the required level. As a result, CSKA scores on major occasions. Just as it wins. All this creates considerable pressure on the coaching staff and players of the club. Despite all the problems, Lokomotiv will not lose on CSKA's home ground.