Zenit – Akhmat

In St. Petersburg, the guests will perform at a high level.

Zenit will play their match of the eleventh round of the Premier League with a current three-match winning streak. Although such a run does not seem unusual for Sergei Semak's team, this season it is the best streak for the blue-white-sky blues. During the first third of the season, Zenit had not won more than two matches in a row even once. The country's champions returned from trips to Krasnodar and Kaspiysk in good spirits. However, it is important to note that the Saint Petersburg club did not make the best start to the season. Before their current winning run, the blue-white-sky blues had lost not only to their major rivals, Moscow's CSKA and Spartak, but also to the relatively modest Rodina, who have already managed to dismiss one head coach and appoint another. Before the break for international matches, Zenit defeated Lokomotiv and Baltika, going into the pause with optimism. At the same time, every one of Zenit's victories has been achieved with great difficulty. In each of the last three rounds, Semak's team secured three points, reaching the final whistle with a one-goal advantage over their opponents. In fact, the national cup match played on Wednesday also ended with a one-goal victory for Zenit. Moreover, the blue-white-sky blues' reserves defeated Dynamo Makhachkala in a comeback, with the decisive goal scored by 18-year-old Amir Musaev (2:1). Grozny's Akhmat began another Russian Premier League season at their usual level as a mid-table side. Having narrowly avoided relegation from the top division at the end of the season before last, the club from the capital of the Chechen Republic appointed Stanislav Cherchesov as head coach. The experienced specialist stabilized the situation. Akhmat have a very respectable squad and competition in virtually every position, but they have not risen above their ceiling of ninth or tenth place. At the same time, Akhmat do not give points away to anyone easily. In their last six Premier League rounds, Cherchesov's team have lost only once, when they were forced to play for an hour with ten men against Akron. Akhmat rarely take points from Zenit, but they lose to them by two or more goals even less often. We will bet that the visitors will put in a respectable performance in Saint Petersburg.