"Zenith will own the initiative": Kobelev - about the derby of the two capitals, Tedesco's behavior, Dziuba's form and Kokorin's injury

"Honestly, I don't like the way Tedesco behaves."

- In the first match between Spartak and Zenit, the red-whites had the ball a little more than their opponents.

Who do you think will play the first number this time?

- I think you shouldn't pay attention to the first game between the teams, after all enough time has passed.

As the recent matches show, it is more comfortable for Spartak to give the ball to the opponent and act on counterattacks.

At least they are trying to do it.

Therefore, I will assume that Zenit will have the initiative, and the red-and-white will run away in quick counter-attacks.

- That is, "Spartak" will play the first number only into the hands?

- By and large, Domenico Tedesco's wards show such football throughout the season.

This is no secret to anyone.

- If Zenit wins this match, can it again go into the championship gap, as it happened in the previous two seasons?

- The gap is not that big yet.

Three to four points is not ten.

Even if the backlog of the pursuers from Zenit grows, it will not be a fatal blow for the rest of the teams.

In any case, there are still 11 rounds ahead.

- Can we assume that Spartak will approach the derby in better physical shape than Zenit?

Still, the red and white were not burdened with participation in European competitions.

- In my opinion, no.

Zenit managed to recover after playing in the Champions League.

And after the match with Dynamo the team had a few days of rest.

This is quite enough to fully recover.  

- There will be practically no spectators at the game.

How will this affect the players?

- We all play for the fans, and their presence in the stands creates the right emotional background.

Playing in an empty stadium is, of course, difficult.

If the arena in St. Petersburg was full, we would get a completely different environment.

But that is what it is.

I would not say that this will give Spartak some advantage.

The absence of people is a loss for everyone.

- "Spartak" notified the FTC RFU that Tedesco will not attend the meeting of the organization dedicated to the incident after the meeting with "Sochi", and therefore, most likely, will be on the sidelines during the match with "Zenith".

How important is it for his charges?

- The presence of the head coach is always very important for footballers.

He is able to send the necessary emotions and quickly adjust the game.

If it is not there, problems immediately appear.

- Don't you think that Tedesco is sometimes overly emotional?

- They say Domenico is emotional, but I think he just rings with empty cans.

We all have emotions, but we need to restrain ourselves.

There is a lot of ostentation in Tedesco's behavior.

For example, he regularly appeals to the judges, the German is constantly not satisfied with something.

Honestly, I don't like the way Tedesco behaves.  

• © RIA Novosti / Pavel Lisitsyn

- Alexander Kokorin will not fly to the match with Zenit.

How serious is this loss for Spartak?

- Judging by the last matches, not too serious.

In the new team, he plays very little so far and today is not a footballer of the first team.

Kokorin's special attitude to Zenit?

It is far from the fact that he would have tore and threw on the field even in St. Petersburg.

These are just guesses.

- Zelimkhan Bakaev in the matches with Rotor and Tambov gave an assist.

It is clear that these are not rivals of the highest level, but can we say that the tenth number of "Spartak" is gradually gaining its former form?

- While Zelimkhan plays unevenly.

He needs time to recover.

At the moment, I would not talk about Bakaev as a footballer who makes a result.

Look, he doesn't even always make the starting lineup this season.

Not the fact that he will enter the field from the first minutes in St. Petersburg.

Spartak has a fairly good selection of performers.

And then, it cannot be ruled out that Tedesco will decide to play with Zenit without a top ten at all.

The same Roman Zobnin plays on the flank and in the center.

Suddenly the guests will try to surprise the reigning champion in this way.

"If Spartak plays at high speed, Zenit defenders may have problems."

- Artyom Dziuba scored against Lazio after a forced pause for the national teams' matches and scored a double in the game against Dynamo.

Can we say that a short break went to his advantage and the striker will approach the derby in better shape?

- I think so.

It was evident that he was tired, both physically and mentally.

Dziuba needed a pause.

Now he is rested and looks better than before the November matches of the national team.

It is clear that everyone expects goals from him as a striker in derby.

But, first of all, I want to see an exciting and interesting match.

Over the weekend, I watched Manchester City meet Manchester United in the Premier League and was discouraged by the lackluster performance that the teams showed.

I hope everything will turn out differently in St. Petersburg and there will be a lot of emotions and goals scored.

- In your opinion, the match between Zenit and Spartak can be boring?

- Why not?

Teams can sit out on the defensive.

But a lot will depend on the goal scored.

Now we can guess as much as we want how the match will turn out, and then one of the teams will score, and the second will have to open up.

One goal sometimes turns the game around.

- In recent matches, in the absence of the injured Vyacheslav Karavaev, Aleksey Sutormin played on the right flank of Zenit's defense.

How much experience in this position will be enough in a match with such an opponent as Spartak, considering that Ayrton is on the left side of Spartak.

- It is felt that the edge of the defense is not the position of Sutormin.

But he closes it, and it's a good option for the team.

It's great when a football player can take several places at once.

Let Alexei not do 100%, but he doesn't make big mistakes either.

Will he cope with Ayrton?

In the match against Dynamo, Sutormin quite adequately held back the technical Daniil Lesovoy.

Plus, right central defender Dejan Lovren is always ready to back him up.

- Can Malcolm and Sebastian Driussi on the flanks take advantage of Ayrton and Victor Moses' love for offensive connections?

- Let's see if they can use these free zones.

But it's one thing when Spartak plays against inferior teams in class and is forced to break into a saturated defense.

Then Ayrton and Moses have to connect high.

I don't think this will happen in the derby with Zenit.

Surely, the red-white will start the meeting carefully and will act as number two.

And all other things being equal, Moses will have to make a choice in favor of defending his own goal.

- Will the age duo in the center of Zenit's defense Yaroslav Rakitskiy - Lovren be able to cope with fast Jordan Larsson and Ezequiel Ponce?

- If Spartak plays at high speed, Zenit defenders may have problems.

We saw this in the Champions League as well.

But Rakitskiy and Lovren are quite experienced players.

It is unlikely that they will allow the attackers of the opponent to scatter.

And the defensive midfielders Vilmar Barrios and Magomed Ozdoev will actively help them.

In defense, both act well and competently suppress the opponent's quick counterattacks.

By their actions, they help the defenders return to their original positions.

- In what way is the pair of Barrios and Ozdoev stronger than the duet of Alex Kral and Zobnin?

- These are more or less comparable in terms of the bundle.

But in defense, Zenit's defenders are still stronger.

- Can we expect that the Petersburgers will organize the main pressure on the Spartak goal through the zone of young Pavel Maslov?

- Why not?

The coaching staff of Sergei Semak will disassemble the red and white and find weak points in their formations, which he will focus on.

But you need to understand what state Zenit players are in and how they will act.

And so coaches always urge to put pressure on those defenders who, for example, do not have sufficient speed, trying to squeeze the maximum out of this lack.

- Will the three central defenders of Spartak help the team cope with the duet Dzyuba - Serdar Azmun?

- Of course, it is incredibly difficult to play one-on-one against such attackers.

And when you have one more person, it makes life easier for the defenders.

In this case, they, at least, can hedge each other.

It is clear that Dziuba, by tradition, will win horse martial arts and throw off balls to Azmun.

Plus, we shouldn't forget about the connections of the technical Malcolm and Driussi.

They are also very fast players.

Therefore, all five Spartak defenders in St. Petersburg are likely to be defensively oriented.  

- The goalkeeper of the red and whites Alexander Maksimenko does not always act reliably in matches with top clubs.

Has a peculiar complex formed in him?

- I would not say that he makes mistakes precisely in matches with top clubs.

Every footballer sometimes makes mistakes, regardless of the level of the opponent.

But it is clear that playing with Zenit is much harder than playing with the conventional Ufa, since the class of performers from St. Petersburg is much higher.

I do not see any "complex of giants" in Maksimenko.

Look how much Spartak is helping out.