Krasnodar – Baltika

The Russian runner-up will snap its losing streak with a convincing victory.

Football club Krasnodar has looked nothing like itself this season. The Bulls have never experienced crises of this magnitude, neither under Murad Musaev nor under Vladimir Ivic, who was dismissed before the current coach returned to the club. The Russian vice-champions' winless run began in their cup tie against Fakel, held on the first day of September. After that, Musaev's team travelled to Samara to face Krylia Sovetov, won the first half 2–0, and that was it — no one has seen the familiar Krasnodar since. The Wings fought back to earn a draw in that match, and Krasnodar embarked on a whole series of setbacks that later turned into two consecutive defeats. Something has gone badly wrong in Musaev's system. Moreover, this concerns not only the team's on-field connections but also the atmosphere in the dressing room. In the nearly two months since the Bulls' last victory, the players whose level has not dropped compared with the previous football season can be counted on one hand. They are Joao Batxi, Ilya Vakhania and Lucas Olaza. In their last three competitive matches, Krasnodar conceded a total of eight goals. Nothing remains of the Bulls' previously reliable defence. Many associate these circumstances with Diego Costa's departure to PAOK. Musaev simply could not find a place in the lineup for one of the Premier League's best defenders. This fact surprises Krasnodar supporters. Krasnodar's most recent match, against Lokomotiv in Moscow, seemed to suggest that their play had improved in many respects. However, there were still some comical defensive errors in that game, which is why Krasnodar had to settle for a 3–3 draw. Baltika will arrive for the match on a winless run of its own. In the league, the Kaliningrad side have failed to win their last five competitive matches. In their two most recent Premier League games, Baltika failed to score against Akhmat and Rostov. Andrey Talalaev is facing less criticism than his counterpart at Krasnodar, as Baltika has considerably fewer squad resources. In the previous championship, Baltika took points from Krasnodar twice, so everyone in the Bulls' camp understands the seriousness of the task ahead. We will bet on the vice-champions ending their poor run with a victory.