How will the absence of Goncharenko on the coaching bridge affect CSKA
The fiasco in the confrontation with Zenit turned for CSKA not only the loss of critical points, but also the prospect of the resignation of the head coach. A devastating defeat overwhelmed Viktor Goncharenko’s patience. First, he missed the press conference because of health problems, and then, according to media reports, he left the country altogether. As a result, on June 22, it was announced that the Belarusian specialist would not lead the army team in the match of the 24th round of the RPL, and Sergey Ovchinnikov would fulfill his duties.
During his 13-year coaching career, Ovchinnikov only headed the coaching staff three times. In the period from 2009 to 2011, he managed to work as a mentor in Kuban, Bryansk and Minsk Dynamo, after which he played the role of an assistant. In this regard, it is very difficult to imagine in what form CSKA will approach the most important meeting with Dynamo, which may become a key one in the course of the fight for European competitions.
Of course, it is difficult to predict now whether Ovchinnikov will decide to rebuild the team’s game. Recently, many have criticized the army team for too attacking and energy-consuming style that does not give a result. Therefore, it is not surprising if the former goalkeeper decides to shift his focus a little towards defense. What definitely does not have to be doubted is his ability to inspire confidence in the wards.
When the player was in the service, Sergey Ivanovich superbly made partners and supervised their actions, which should help red-and-blue in the current situation. CSKA can not win for six consecutive matches and the matter is not only in the skill of the performers, but also in mental problems.
As for the opponent, Dynamo is still one of the main mystery teams in the final part of the season. At least for the reason that it did not play in the last round. This category also includes Rostov, the colors of which in the confrontation with Sochi were defended by juniors, not professional athletes. In friendly matches, the wards of Kirill Novikov showed excellent results, which should inspire confidence in the blue and white fans. A crushing victory over Spartak and a draw with Lokomotiv show the excellent shape of the blue and white.
The only question is how the absence of mid-line players Charles Cabore and Sebastian Szymanski, as well as jet forward Clinton N'Zhi, who caught the coronavirus, will affect the team.
What will happen to the teams in which COVID-19 was identified
One of the main intrigues of the upcoming tour will be the decision of the league for those clubs whose representatives passed a positive test for COVID-19. This is of particular interest, since a week ago in all three cases of RPL received differently. “Rostov” was forced to send the graduates of the academy to the field and defeatedly lost with a score of 1:10, “Dynamo” managed to agree with “Krasnodar” about the transfer, and “Ufa” completely limited itself to transferring potentially infected players to quarantine.
In this regard, serious questions are caused by the appearance in the upcoming tour of “Rostov”, “Dynamo” and announced the outbreak of the coronavirus “Orenburg”. At the moment, the main teams are in quarantine, and this despite the fact that the infected were isolated. If we take the situation with Ufa as an example, it seems logical to provide both teams with the opportunity to let out players who did not directly contact the infected. But while there is no clarity regarding this, and the official statement from the RFU and RPL has not been followed.
Thus, one should not exclude the option in which all three teams have to either negotiate a transfer of games or let out youth. In this case, the most vulnerable position of Dynamo and Orenburg. According to the head of the RPL Sergey Pryadkin, the league has only one reserve date - July 19, but the blue-white ones already used it a week ago, postponing the meeting with Krasnodar. At the same time, wards of Konstantin Paramonov will also meet with the “bulls”.
What is the state of "Krasnodar"
If we ignore the topic of postponement of matches, then one of the main issues is the state of affairs in Krasnodar. On June 21, the club showed nobility and agreed to postpone the most important match against Dynamo, which provided services not only to rivals, but also to itself. The wards of Murad Musaev received an additional six days to prepare, which could well have a positive effect on their condition. And this taking into account the fact that the “bulls” resumed training in mid-May - two weeks earlier than many competitors.
Krasnodar seemed a clear favorite compared to Orenburg, which even before the outbreak of COVID-19 had lost a number of important artists, including defender Andrei Malykh and midfielder Daniel Mishkich. Both earned deletions in the confrontation with the “Locomotive”. We cannot but recall other personnel losses caused by a pause in the championship. During this time, the club expired contracts with three base players: goalkeeper Alexander Dovbnei, midfielder Philip Rogic and striker George Despotovich. The loss of the Serb was the most painful, because he was the top scorer of the team with nine goals.
Nevertheless, the fact that Krasnodar regularly experienced problems in playing with it speaks in favor of Orenburg. For all the time, “bulls” only once defeated an opponent in an official match - in the 2016/17 Cup of Russia. In the RPL, the last three meetings ended in a draw, with black and green twice having to recoup. In 2018, they were saved by Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov, and a year later, by Manuel Fernandes.
Is Spartak defending sixth place
In the 23rd round, the wards of Vadim Evseev not only escaped the fate of Rostov and Dynamo, but also continued the fight for the sixth line. For Ufa, this could be a repetition of the best result in the history of the club and turn into an opportunity to try their hand at the Europa League. True, this will become possible if Zenit wins the Russian Cup for the first time in four years. In this context, the meeting with Spartak is acquiring a special principle, because at the moment it is the wards of Domenico Tedesco who occupy a position that potentially gives the right to qualify for the European competition.
The successful performance of the Muscovites in the match against Arsenal could inspire some confidence in their fans, but the match with the Ufa team will obviously not be an easy walk for them. This is evidenced by at least the statistics of their face-to-face meetings. Since 2014, Spartak and Ufa have played in the RPL 11 times and only four times won 10-time Russian champions. On account of the “townspeople” five victories, and a draw was also recorded twice. The fact that the last two games at the Otkrytie Arena ended in their favor can set up the optimistic mood of red-white fans, but the advantage in those matches can hardly be called overwhelming. In 2019, everything was decided by the goal of The Luis, and a year earlier, Fernando, Quincy Promes and Luis Adriano answered the exact shot of Sylvester Igbun.
One of the main intrigues of the match is who will play the first number. Under Tedesco, Spartak is increasingly turning into a counterattack team, and Evseev is famous for his pronounced defensive style. This is also illustrated by statistics: “Ufa” takes the second place in conceded goals (20, less only at “Zenith”) and the second from the end in goals scored (18, less only at “Rubin”). Nevertheless, one of the opponents will still have to take control of the ball and it is possible that the guests will do it. For them, sixth place is the only chance to get into European competitions, while Spartak can qualify for the Europa League and through the Cup of Russia.
Will outsiders be able to take away points from Zenit and Lokomotiv
Last weekend, Zenit defeated one of the most serious opponents in the final part of the championship on the way to the second consecutive title and almost destroyed the tournament intrigue. A nine-point advantage over the closest competitor will be extremely difficult to win back in the remaining time. Especially if the leader is not only in great shape and has a huge margin of safety, but also has not the most difficult calendar.
Opponents from Samara will become another obstacle to the early championship for Petersburgers. At the moment, “Wings of the Soviets” occupy the last, 16th place in the standings, so they are unlikely to experience problems with motivation. Wards of Miodrag Bozovic will surely fight hard for a set of points.
“Lokomotiv” is waiting for a more serious test in the form of gaining momentum “Ruby”. Under the leadership of Leonid Slutsky, the Kazan team earned seven points in four matches and climbed 11th place in the table. Last weekend, Kazan pulled out the most important three points from the “Urals”, which only strengthened their self-confidence.
Of course, this meeting will be special for Khvichi Kvaratskhelia, who for the second time this season will speak out against his former club. In the first round, the Georgian child prodigy has already scored a goal and will probably try to do it again. Fortunately, now he is in great shape, which has confirmed the confrontation with Ural. The midfielder took part in both assists, noting an exact shot through himself and an assist.
Lokomotiv will not be able to count on the disqualified Rifat Zhemaletdinov, but it will get the opportunity to ignore the situation with Yuri Semin a bit. Visitors to the railroad are unlikely to expect massive protests, which will allow focusing on football not only to athletes, but also to head coach Marko Nikolic. Serb with a victory began his career in the RPL and has a great chance to extend the successful series and continue to gain the trust of fans.