Fakel – Zenit

Zenit can easily handle an outsider

On Monday, 6 May, Zenit will try to get back on the winning track in Voronezh. The opponents are also motivated to the limit by their fight, and even more so with a new coach. Zenit are by no means showing championship football. The club is struggling to pick up points, and in recent meetings they have had a rare streak of three matches without a win. As a result: Krasnodar have already caught up on points, but are behind on extra points. Four wins and Zenit will be champions again. A situation is emerging in which the St. Petersburg team should break through. The team doesn't have any major problems with the squad, and the foreigners are able to add at key points in the season. The meeting with CSKA in the Russian Cup was not low in quality. A draw in Moscow is a positive result to build on. It's also a suitable opponent for a rout. Fakel is one of the worst clubs in the league right now. At the peak of the crisis, the management risked changing the coach. Igor Cherevchenko was urgently appointed instead of Sergey Tashuyev. Such a technique worked at the end of last season, but now it's hard to count on any positive effect. Yes, Fakel took a draw in Sochi in the first game with Cherevchenko, but still thanks to luck. According to advanced stats, the opponent objectively dominated. Fakel has a terrible series after Spartak: six matches without wins, only one goal scored. The clubs have become accustomed to Voronezh's primitive game, the squad of performers is of a very low level, and the emotional peak has long passed. There are also problems with the banal rotation. Fakel created 2 XG chances in the last five games. This is simply a disaster in terms of offence. It is doubtful that the new coach will have time to fix the situation in a fortnight, and even against Zenit. To all the club's woes let's add injuries. Voronezh cannot count on the important forward Markov and the crucial midfielder Mendel. In the first round Zenit won a pragmatic 2-0 victory over Fakel. Now we can expect a more efficient game. Zenit have often allowed themselves to go out and act with class in such matches. The game with Voronezh will definitely be different. St. Petersburg have jeopardised the championship - there is no margin for error. Fakel run the risk of running into an angry favourite, which needs to urgently close a bad streak. And scorer Kassierra is hungry for goals. Bookmakers give odds of 1.70 - too high. Zenit should beat the doomed outsider with reserves. Fakel will spend the whole match in defence. It is possible that the fate of the confrontation will be decided in the first half.