Failure in the center of defense and problems in the base zone
The game "Krasnodar" in the current season causes conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the team is in third place and does not know defeats for ten rounds of the RPL. On the other hand, in these matches, wards of Murad Musaev won only four victories and six times parted with the rivals of the world. In particular, points were lost in home games with Orenburg and Tambov inferior in the class.
The first official game of the southerners in 2020 turned out to be contradictory. “Krasnodar” at home twice hit the gates of “Ufa”, but at the same time 60 minutes showed not the most spectacular football. In the first half, the hosts struck only one shot on goal, and even he came out not too dangerous. Opponents had much more moments in counterattacks, but could not realize them.
The current bronze medalist of the championship will have to face even more confrontation with the upcoming Spartak, all the more so since the Kuban club again faced a real epidemic of injuries. The fans of the team are particularly worried about the center of defense - in Moscow, both solid base players - Alexander Martynovich and Urosh Spaich - will certainly not enter the field.
In the first match after the resumption of the season with “Ufa”, the duet in defense were Yegor Sorokin and Cayo. The Russians spent the first match in the “Krasnodar”, the Brazilian - the second in this position for his entire career. Despite the fact that the Southerners managed not to miss, Sorokin and Cayo were far from sinless. Moreover, they expectedly lacked mutual understanding.
And if Sorokin, at least, established himself as a sufficiently strong footballer in Rubin and even was called up to the national team, his newly-minted partner was remembered mainly for his removal after replacing in the game with Spartak. Moreover, before the match with “Ufa” Kayo acted as an opornik. How it will look in the center of defense under the pressure of those who caught the courage of Alexander Sobolev and Esekiel Ponce is a big question.
An additional problem for the team in Moscow could be the excessive love of Christian Ramirez for connecting to the attack. The technical Ecuadorian loves and knows how to go forward, but does not always have time to return back. And to wait for help in defense from Manuel Fernandes and Vanderson is not necessary all the more. This means that in addition to performing direct duties, Cayo and Sorokin will have to deal with the partner's insurance, which is fraught with the formation of voids in the penalty area.
Serious problems "Krasnodar" is experiencing in the support area. The match with Ufa due to injuries was missed by Yuri Gazinsky with Tonni de Villena, and Viktor Klasson has still not recovered from serious knee damage. As a result, the company of Victor Olsson and Daniil Utkin was compelled by the 20-year-old debutant Alexander Chernikov. During the break, he was replaced by Marcus Berg.
If de Villena and Gazinsky do not recover by Monday, then Krasnodar may lose the match in the base zone, especially considering the brilliant form of Alex Kral and Roman Zobnin at the beginning of the year. In addition, the southerners with the loss of key midfielders have virtually no players left who are able to deliver the ball forward. In fact, both Olsson and Utkin are more focused on destruction. Thus, Manuel Fernanandes, Ari and Vanderson at the Otkrytie Arena can remain on a starvation diet or go down in search of the ball, which will reduce pressure on the defense of red and white.
Bakaev in doubt and the mistakes of the defenders
However, the situation at Spartak is also far from cloudless. Firstly, the team will enter the field just a few days after the hardest 120-minute match with CSKA. But, at first glance, this should not knock down the red and white. Nevertheless, positive emotions from victories always give strength. Yes, and Domenico Tedesco perfectly prepared the wards to resume the season. It was striking in the derby with Dynamo and CSKA both in terms of the actions of the whole team and the games of individual performers: Zobnin, Krala, Ponce, Zelimkhan Bakaev.
At the same time, Bakayev may miss the game due to a concussion, and the absence of such a football player will hit Spartak. On the other hand, at the coaching staff there is Guus Til, who had a great substitute in the cup confrontation with the army team and was even close to upset Igor Akinfeev in the compensated time for the second extra half.
Finally, the red-white is still imperfect in defense. In almost every match, the metropolitan team makes serious mistakes in defense. And if Dynamo did not use them, then CSKA twice punished a principal rival and could well score more. However, in each game, the defense of Spartak cannot resemble a passage through the yard, in the end, really high-class performers are gathered there: Samuel Zhigot, Ilya Kutepov, Georgy Dzhikia.
It would seem that before the match in Moscow everything speaks in favor of Spartak. However, for “Krasnodar” this game will be a good test. In the capital, southerners will have to prove that they are ready to fight for second place. And teams of this level are required not only to take their points when the game is on and all the leaders are in order, but also to overcome themselves when the situation is not very successful.
And it is in such meetings that Krasnodar can show that it is ready to participate in the group stage of the Champions League, since the previous attempt was not very convincing. And if the southerners, despite numerous injuries and a serious personnel revolution at the beginning of the season, take silver for the first time in history, they will demonstrate that they are able to fight for the title.
And in order to be on the second line, Krasnodar needs to beat Spartak. The match in Moscow is a great chance for Musayev to prove that he has already become a serious independent coach, and not just a protege of Sergei Galitsky.