An exhibition match for Cherchesov and Guilherme's last chance

The match between CSKA and Lokomotiv is of great interest for several reasons.

One of them is the confrontation between the current and former goalkeepers of the Russian national team.

Igor Akinfeev was practically permanent “number one” of the national team for more than ten years, and after the home world championship his place, having won the competition from Andrei Lunev, was taken by Marinato Guilherme.

However, the naturalized Brazilian spent the last two meetings of the national team in the League of Nations (with Serbia and Hungary) on the bench, giving way to Anton Shunin at the base.

But it is unlikely that Stanislav Cherchesov then put an end to the experienced goalkeeper.

On the contrary, the match with CSKA may in many ways affect his chances to go to the European Championship, given the rumors of a possible return to the national team of Akinfeev.

On Sunday, Cherchesov will have a great opportunity to compare two experienced goalkeepers.

And if the CSKA goalkeeper regularly saves his team, then Guilherme periodically makes productive mistakes.

True, in the last three RPL matches, the opponents failed to hit his goal, but Marinato still made blots.

For example, in the game against Rostov, he kicked the ball straight to Eldor Shomurodov in his own penalty area, and only the Uzbek's sluggishness prevented him from excelling.

If Guilherme looks uncertain in the derby too, then his chances of going to the second European Championship in his career may be greatly reduced.

In this case, Cherchesov will only strengthen the idea of ​​the need to return to the national team of Akinfeev.

An exhibition match for Anton Miranchuk and an ordeal for Karpov

If in defense Lokomotiv acted reliably in the last three games, allowing the opponents to strike only four shots on target, then the team faced serious problems in the attack after Alexei Miranchuk left.

The railroad workers made only nine shots on target, six of which were in the duel with the outsider Tambov.

Obviously, with the departure of Alexei Miranchuk, the team lost the main organizer of the attacks, who not only supplied the attackers with passes, but could also have distinguished himself.

Brother Anton is trying to take on his role.

And the game against Tambov turned out to be quite successful for him.

Anton gave an assist to Fyodor Smolov and was named the best player of the match.

However, much more indicative will be the match against CSKA, which got an excellent move, in which it will be much more difficult for Miranchuk to prove himself.

On the other hand, the army's defense is far from sinless.

Throughout the previous season, Viktor Goncharenko relied on a formation with three central defenders, but in recent matches he switched to a game with two.

This did not affect the number of blots.

In addition, Igor Diveev will not have time to recover by the Sunday derby, which means that Vadim Karpov, who regularly makes mistakes, will again take his place in the center of defense.

And if in matches with inferior rivals in a class the young footballer acts reliably, in games with top rivals he often cannot cope with pressure.

For example, in the derby with Spartak Karpov almost got a red card and was close to being fouled in his own penalty area on Ayrton.

Expectation of goals from Chalov and hopes of fans on Smolov

On Sunday, Karpov's wards will have to hold back one of the strongest Russian attackers - Smolov.

After returning from loan at Real Madrid, the striker scored two goals, and the fans of the team began to hope that the twice-top scorer of the RPL would finally begin to realize his potential at 100%.

Perhaps additional motivation in the game against CSKA will give the footballer rumors about Mario Mandzhukic's transfer to Lokomotiv.

The arrival of a performer of this level, albeit an age one, will surely force Smolov to score as often as possible so as not to be on the bench, given the presence of Eder.

Fyodor Chalov found himself in a similar situation at CSKA.

Last season, the striker of the Russian youth national team had no alternative in the team, and he entered the field even when he had not scored for several months.

However, in the summer, the army team has seriously strengthened, and Chalov is no longer the only striker of the red and blue.

The competition for a place is based on Ilya Shkurin, who came back in winter, and Adolfo Gayich, bought for a lot of money, with Chidera Edzhuke.

Unlike Smolov, Chalov in the current season has only scored assists, and in the last game of the RPL he was in the reserve for the first time.  

On the eve of the derby, this should spur the player up, because now Goncharenko can leave him on the bench without harming the team.

The limit on foreign players will not be a problem either, since at the moment there are eight foreigners in CSKA's application without taking into account the Belarusian Shkurin.

And the coaching staff can release all of them in the starting lineup.

Explosive Ejuke and inert Kamano

In the last RPL match against Ufa, Chalova in the starting lineup of CSKA replaced one of the footballers acquired in the summer - Edzhuke.

The goal against Spartak helped Chidera get into the army team for the first time.

So far, the Nigerian looks like one of the most interesting newcomers to the team.

He is technical and fast - fans compare him with Ahmed Musa for a reason.

True, a young football player often overexposes the ball and abuses dribbling.

On average, in a match with CSKA, he went into a stroke three times - this is the best indicator in the team.

In this component, Edzhuke surpassed even Nikola Vlasic (2.8).

And in terms of the average number of strokes per game (3), Chidera is second only to the Croat (4).

At the same time, almost 90% of his programs reach the addressee (89.6).

Versatility is a serious plus of Chidera.

He is able to play not only in the position of the forward forward, but also on both flanks and under the attacker.

The football player's skill has already been appreciated at home.

This week he received his first call to the Nigeria national team.

While CSKA's newcomers have already begun to benefit the team, Lokomotiv's new recruits are still adapting, and some have not yet entered the field.

But François Camano, bought from the French Bordeaux for € 5.5 million, is regularly included in the base.

However, unlike Edjuke, the Guinean has not yet scored a single point for performance and, in general, looks like a foreign body in a team rebuilding on the go.

If we compare Kamano with Chidera, as footballers who often play in the same position, then Francois is inferior to his counterpart in all respects.

He only hits one hit per game, dribbles 0.2 times and averages 18 assists with 76.7% accuracy.

At the same time, the strengths of the Guinean are also speed, technique and a strong blow.

But so far he has failed to prove himself in Loko.

Nikolic under threat of dismissal and absence of Krykhovyak

Finally, the match against CSKA may well become a defining one for Marko Nikolic.

On the one hand, Lokomotiv did not concede in the last three rounds of the RPL and scored five points.

At the same time, the railway workers took points from such strong rivals as Zenit and Rostov.

On the other hand, the vice-champion does not even come close to demonstrating the modern attacking football that the club's management spoke about.

So, in the match with Zenit, the red-greens struck only two shots on target, and in the game with Rostov - one.

Another nondescript game can shake the position of the Serb in the team.

At first glance, there can be no questions for Nikolic, because at Lokomotiv he faced the departure of a number of leaders.

On the other hand, some of Marco's decisions raise questions.

For example, in the game against Rostov, he left Krykhovyak in reserve and released him as a substitute only closer to the final whistle.

Moreover, under the new coach, the Pole practically ceased to gain points for performance, although under Yuri Semin he scored 12 goals in 66 matches.

And in the match with CSKA, Grzegorz will not play at all due to the bust of yellow cards.

On the whole, the Serb in Lokomotiv is acting too cautiously and does not trust creative footballers so boldly, for example, the newcomer Lisakovich and the young Dmitry Rybchinsky.

It is possible that the team's faded football may prompt the management to make personnel decisions, despite the early start in the Champions League.