Competition in the supporting zone, a chance for Bakaev and Fernandez’s fatigue: Cherchesov’s three dilemmas before the match with Scotland

Support zone: Akhmetov or Barinov

Stanislav Cherchesov, as you know, is a coach who, without special need, does not make changes to the starting lineup of the Russian team. So in the match with Scotland, which could be decisive for the team, the specialist, most likely, will not go for experiments. Moreover, it will be possible to leave them for the remaining selection meetings, when a ticket to the final stage is already obtained.

However, there are still questions regarding several positions in the starting lineup. First of all, we are talking about the support zone. If the place of Magomed Ozdoev on the field is almost undeniable (the football player spent five matches of the qualifying stage from six from the first to the last minute), then a serious fight will go for the position of his partner.

Most often, Cherchesov trusted the key zone to the experienced fighter Roman Zobnin, but the Spartak midfielder will miss the next matches of the team due to an injury and, moreover, is not in the best condition, like the whole red and white team. Three selection matches in the supporting zone were held by Ilzat Akhmetov. However, the last meeting with Kazakhstan was not very successful for him. It is possible that fatigue affects his condition. The young midfielder receives a lot of playing practice at CSKA - at the start of the season, Akhmetov spent 17 matches, including appearances for the national team, only two of which he started on the bench.

But Dmitry Barinov is in great shape. Yes, at Lokomotiv he also gets a tremendous load and is an indispensable footballer, but the 23-year-old opornik seems to never get tired and has incredible stamina. Given this, Barinov may well for the first time in his career get into the starting lineup of the national team, and he himself admits that he is ready for this.

“His condition, first of all, must be proved in training. But there is a possibility that in the near future I will play in the starting lineup of the national team, ”Lokomotiv midfielder said in an interview with Russia 24.

In this situation, Barinov is opposed only by a lack of experience, but, firstly, Akhmetov does not have much more. And secondly, Cherchesov gradually led Dmitry to the game for the national team and, it seems, is ready to trust him, as Yury Semin trusted in Lokomotiv, where the midfielder managed to win the competition against ex-captain Igor Denisov, who was forced to end his career .

Right edge of attack: Ionov or Bakaev

Also, fans can witness a difficult choice on the right side of the attack. In a match with Kazakhstan, Anton Miranchuk played in this position, but he is currently injured. With a high degree of probability, the Lokomotiv midfielder will be replaced by Alexey Ionov, who began to play regularly for the national team after the home world championship, when Alexander Samedov completed his career.

In addition, Ionov had a great start to the season with Rostov. Yellow and blue are currently located in the group of RPL leaders, and the football player regularly scores points for performance. Plus, he did not have an excessive load in the fall, because Rostovites do not participate in European competitions.

Most likely, it is Ionov who will appear on the right flank of the attack on Thursday, but it cannot be ruled out that Cherchesov decides to try in the case of Zelimkhan Bakayev. Although Spartak failed the first third of the season and was left without a head coach, the game of the midfielder was one of the few bright spots against the gloomy team background. His extraordinary technique and dedication immediately fell in love with the fans. In addition, Bakaev is only 23 years old, while Ionov is 30, and it is precisely Zelimkhan who has the future in the national team, unless, of course, he lowers his requirements.

Right flank of defense: Fernandez or Karavaev

Finally, Cherchesov may have to smash his head over who to put on the right flank of the defense. On the one hand, the position of Mario Fernandez here seems unshakable. On the other hand, the same words apply to a naturalized Brazilian as to Akhmetov.

Only Mario is indispensable not only in the club, but also in the national team. In the new season, he took part in 16 matches, but he spent all of them from bell to bell and only missed a trip to Vladikavkaz in the framework of the Russian Cup.

It is not surprising that such a load could not affect Fernandez. The last meetings with the army he failed. This is confirmed by statistics. According to the Instat program, in the match with Espanyol, the defender performed only 257 technical and tactical actions, and in the game with Rostov - 279. For comparison, Mario issued 339 TTDs in the match with Ural.

It is possible that in this situation, the coaching staff of the national team will provide the player with a vital pause, because otherwise overstrain can result in injury. It is not surprising that on Tuesday the player even trained on an individual program. By the way, several people are ready to replace him in the team at once: Sergey Petrov, Vyacheslav Karavaev and Vladislav Ignatiev.

And if the appearance of the experienced Lokomotiv player, called up at the last moment, is unlikely, the fans can quite see Petrov and Karavaev on the field. It will be especially interesting to watch the last one, who played a lot in Europe and returned to Russia, replenishing the Zenit squad.