The previous meeting between CSKA and Spartak took place contrary to the forecasts of experts.
Opponents approached the 25th round of the RPL in a different state.
CSKA - after a seven-match losing streak and a strange situation with mentor Viktor Goncharenko, who left the team and went to Belarus, but managed to return to the derby.
Spartak, on the contrary, after the resumption of the championship were on the rise and were aiming at the European Cup zone.
Domenico Tedesco's wards were considered favorites, but the course of the game once again proved that the usual scenarios do not work in derby.
CSKA won a landslide victory (2: 0) and subsequently, until the last rounds, fought for a ticket to the Champions League, while Spartak, after a failure, smeared the ending of the championship.
In general, the meetings between red-blue and red-white lately have not amazed specialists with the quality of football or an exciting plot.
The teams played a relatively good game with a dramatic denouement in the quarterfinals of the Russian Cup in March this year.
In other cases, the fans discussed the events around the derby more than what was happening on the field.
If we proceed only from the position in the standings, “Spartak” again has a little more reason to win three points.
He is the leader in the championship and, along with Sochi, has not yet lost in the current draw.
On the other hand, the red and white did not look much stronger than their opponents even in victorious matches.
In some cases, Tedesco's team was frankly lucky, which, however, does not detract from the merits of the coach and the players.
At the same time, the composition of the red and white looks more stable.
They had a long time ago formed the main clip, as a result of which the club easily let such an individually strong performer as Guus Thiel on loan.
On the contrary, CSKA has a lot of injured and newcomers.
Goncharenko only has to fit them into his scheme and a break for the matches of the national team is unlikely to have a positive effect on this process.
Leadership of Tedesco's charges after six rounds was taken with skepticism by many.
Those who did not believe in their ability to compete for the title pointed to an easy calendar at the start of the championship.
Indeed, the red and white had a chance to meet with Arsenal, Ufa and Rotor, currently occupying 13th, 14th and 16th places in the table, respectively.
Of the direct competitors, Spartak has so far played only with Lokomotiv.
The victory was won against the background of serious personnel losses from the enemy.
According to a number of signs, it turns out that the game with CSKA will become partly decisive.
She will show the true value of the team's ambitions.
Guests may have problems with this.
In recent years, Spartak, with rare exceptions, have played unsuccessfully important matches.
On the opponent's field, they won for the last time even under Massimo Carrera more than three years ago.
If during the starting segment of the championship the participants played non-stop, then a two-week pause for the League of Nations can significantly affect the state of the players.
This always gives headaches to club coaches.
Both Spartak and CSKA have a lot of collections that have received a serious load.
The rest fell out of their usual playing rhythm and were just practicing.
However, Spartak themselves make it clear that they have no fear of the derby.
So, their forward Jordan Larsson on Saturday posted a photo in his Instagram account hugging Ezequiel Ponce, Lucas Ayrton and Samuel Gigot, and in his signature he assured that he was ready for the upcoming confrontation.
Indirectly not in favor of "Spartak" may play the recent hype around the team.
For example, the media are seriously discussing the role of Zarema Salikhova in the success of the team.
The companion of the club owner Leonid Fedun admitted that she took part in Larsson's transfer, and also revealed other interesting details.
In CSKA in this regard, everything is much calmer.
There have been no sensations about the leadership or management of the red and blue for a long time - except for the conflict between the CSKA TV chief and the team's fans who do not like the content of the club channel.
Meanwhile, Domenico Tedesco celebrated his 35th birthday on September 12.
On this occasion, the mentor had to go through a traditional tunnel of players.
It even seemed that some were too familiarly slapping the hero of the day on the back.
As the captain of the team Georgy Dzhikia joked, Tedesco was hit several times in the liver.
It is generally believed that a coach's birthday before a match is a bad sign.
Even in Soviet football, an anecdote that became immortal was invented about the players who presented their coach with a tie instead of winning.
Although Georgy promised that the main present would be presented to the German on Sunday.
Two days before the derby, Tedesco admitted that his players returned from the national teams in a different tone.
The injuries of Zelimkhan Bakaev and Maxim Glushenkov are worried.
According to the German, Alexander Kokorin, who has started training in the general group, has a chance to get into the application for the match.
The specialist also noted the progress in the game of three friends - Ayrton, Larsson and Ponce.
He also did not shy away from answering about the future of Ilya Kutepov, who loses the competition to other defenders and gets almost no playing time.
In recent days, the press has been writing about the possible transfer of the football player to the Turkish Antalyaspor.
In this championship, another participant in the 2018 World Cup as part of the Russian national team, Fyodor Kudryashov, performs.
“The combination Maslov - Zhigo - Dzhikia demonstrates a good game, so Ilya has less playing practice.
It is clear that a player with such experience wants to spend more time on the field, but we are open to dialogue, honest and communicate directly with the players - whether Kutepov wants to stay and fight for a place in the start or choose another path, "Tedesco explained.
Probably, the current stay of Kutepov on the bench does not mean that Spartak has given up on him.
The story of Gigot is indicative.
In April 2019, the red and white lost to the army team in a faded game (0: 2), and the unsuccessful performance of Gigot was harshly criticized.
There were also those who urged to expel him from the team.
After just a year and a half, the Frenchman is a pillar of the Spartak defense.
And fans are horrified to imagine his possible transfer to Lyon.
CSKA's latest personnel news is limited to signing a new long-term contract with Nair Tiknizyan.
On August 30, he made his debut in the starting lineup in the match against Akhmat and, given the number of injured, he may well play in the derby.
As Tedesco noted, little has changed in CSKA's game over the 2.5 months since the previous meeting.
“You should always look not at a specific scheme, but at how the team interprets it.
In the case of CSKA, a lot depends on Nikola Vlasic - he is a flexible player, he can develop an attack in any direction, plus he is largely supported by Fedor Chalov, Arnor Sigurdsson or Adolfo Gaich, "said the Spartak coach.
In the opinion of the former red-and-white player, and now coach Dmitry Parfyonov, the game will go until the first mistake.
CSKA veteran Dmitry Galyamin believes that "Spartak's leadership in the championship shows weakness and problems in some other clubs."
And well-known coach Sergei Juran is sure that the fans will have another interesting chapter of a fundamental confrontation.
“Now CSKA has problems only in the center of defense.
“Spartak” can take advantage of this, but the army coaching staff certainly have ideas on how to minimize the risks at their gates in such a situation.
On the whole, I think an interesting match should be formed, ”Juran noted.