Baltika – Zenit

The Kaliningrad club will take points off Zenit for the first time in 2026

The rivalry between Baltika and Zenit St. Petersburg intensified more than six months ago. The team coached by Andrey Talalaev, which had impressed with its level of play at the time, put up a more than worthy fight in St. Petersburg, but first the referee disallowed what appeared to be a legitimate goal by Kevin Andrade, and then Zenit scored the winning goal with the help of a deflection. Baltika also lost their next three head-to-head meetings. In other words, in 2026, after four clashes between the teams, the Kaliningrad side have not even managed to earn a single draw. Baltika can disprove their status as a points supplier for the Russian champions as early as Thursday. Talalaev's team are extremely motivated for the upcoming match not only because the country's most prestigious club will be visiting them. Baltika are engaged in a serious battle with Krylia Sovetov for second place, which, along with first place, grants the right to advance to the playoffs. The competitors have currently collected six points each. Dynamo Makhachkala are five points behind them, while Zenit are five points clear of them. In other words, everything is clear regarding first and last place in this group. Zenit are currently in good form and have won their last six official matches. That said, there are factors that could help Baltika earn points. First, Zenit kept a clean sheet for the first time in their last seven matches only in the most recent Premier League round. However, even in that match, a penalty awarded against them was not converted. Second, Sergey Semak's team no longer attach much importance to the national cup, realizing that finishing in first place is inevitable. This could happen even if Zenit fail to earn a single point in their remaining two matches. Therefore, Semak will select a lineup from players who do not receive regular playing time in the league. Even then, he will have to take into account the fact that Aleksandr Sobolev and Aleksandr Erokhin are experiencing health problems. In the previous Russian Cup round, Zenit played in Kaspiysk and secured a comeback victory there. The champions' coach gave playing time to Karavaev, Kondakov, Moskvychev, Shilov, and Jon Jon, who are rarely seen in Premier League matches. Given the same circumstances, Zenit will find it difficult to count on a victory in Kaliningrad.