The match between Spartak and Zenit promises to be not only the main event of the upcoming weekend in Russian football, but also one of the key events in the first half of the RPL season as a whole.
After seven rounds, Guillermo Abascal's wards are only one point behind the reigning champions, and if they win, they can lead the standings.
And as in the run-up to any significant confrontation, individual players come to the fore, capable of, if not alone, deciding its outcome, then at least leading their partners.
Before the derby of the two capitals, the recognized stars of both teams were traditionally in the spotlight.
On the one hand, a bright performance is expected from the leader of the current championship in the “goal + pass” system, Quincy Promes, and Alexander Sobolev, who reveals himself as an assistant.
On the other hand, the triumphant return to the field of last season's best player Claudinho and goals from his compatriots Malcom and Wendel.
But at the same time, other performers remain in the shadows, which bring no less benefit, and at the decisive moment can even become a kind of X-factor in a particular meeting.
At Spartak, Roman Zobnin can be called this with confidence, who spends one of the best stretches over the past few years.
And this is striking against the backdrop of the previous season, which he spent below his capabilities, if not mediocre.
Of course, muscle injuries that bothered the midfielder in the fall played a role, but this can hardly be an excuse.
Rui Vitoria and Paolo Vanoli tried the Russian both in the center of midfield and in the support zone, but there was no previous brilliance.
The performance has fallen, and the benefits in organizing attacks have become noticeably less.
This was partly offset by high performance by his standards (three goals in the RPL), but in other respects the athlete sank.
Therefore, miracles were no longer expected from Zobnin in the summer.
On paper, combinational and possession-oriented football was not much of a match for the 28-year-old all-rounder, and the presence of serious competitors in position did not inspire optimism.
A full-fledged contract with Spartak was signed by Christopher Martins Pereira, Danil Prutsev continued to progress, and Daniil Denisov and Nail Umyarov strengthened their status as Abascal's favorites.
During the pre-season, the first occupied the place of the right central midfielder (the same place where Roman used to be), and the second became practically uncontested as a point guard.
Thus, the former leader of the red-whites was waiting for a transfer either to an unusual left edge, or to the reserve.
It is difficult to say whether the change of position or something else was the decisive factor, but Zobnin's transformation turned out to be phenomenal.
In terms of dedication, he began to resemble himself as a model of the best years, and the effectiveness jumped noticeably at all.
Already after seven rounds, he has three (2 + 1) points on the “goal + pass” system (and there was also a ball in Krasnodar that turned into an own goal by Sergei Borodin) and is two steps away from repeating a personal record.
But that's not the point.
On the left side, he formed a powerful triangle with Daniil Khlusevich and Quincy Promes, regularly creating sharpness at the opponent's goal.
Against the background of other partners, Zobnina also highlights his stability.
If the same super-efficient Promes sometimes literally disappeared from the radar (as happened in the meeting with Dynamo), then Roman did not fall below a certain bar.
With the same blue and white team, he looked great playing along and almost organized a goal against Anton Shunin.
And there is little doubt that on Sunday Zobnin will do everything possible to help Spartak break a ten-match losing streak and confirm his ambitions for the championship.
In the upcoming meeting, it is he who is able to become the very engine of the team and play the most important role when playing both with the ball and without it, and his ability to disperse attacks can become one of the key factors.
Yes, and in terms of dedication to Roman, there will hardly be any complaints.
The same can be said about his former teammate Zelimkhan Bakaev, for whom the confrontation with Spartak promises to be extremely important and fundamental.
In the Super Bowl, he had no chance to prove himself: the winger appeared on the field in the middle of the second half and clearly did not enter the game.
In 21 minutes, he only touched the ball six times, did not perform a single successful stroke, and out of three passes, only two reached the addressee.
As a result, the unofficial title of the worst blue-white-blue football player according to the FotMob portal.
This time, Bakaev has the opportunity to enter the field from the first minutes.
Claudinho has just recovered from his injury and may well miss the match or start it on the bench, and Daler Kuzyaev, due to injury, could not even play a half in the Russian Cup confrontation with Fakel.
At the same time, Andrei Mostovoy, who was impressive at the start of the championship, gradually faded into the shadows.
Zelimkhan, on the contrary, became one of the main creators of the victory over Voronezh and made an application for getting into the main team.
In a meeting with Fakel, Bakaev appeared as the main creator of Zenit and made it clear that he was able to look cool not only during fast attacks, but also in positional ones.
At the same time, he demonstrated the full range of his abilities.
Here, there are shifts from the right flank to the left, followed by a transfer under the blow of Gustavo Mantua, and dangerous blows from outside the penalty area, and a cutting pass to the goalkeeper, which did not end with a goal only because of the sluggishness of Mateo Cassierra.
In any other club, this would guarantee him a place at the base, but in the camp of the current champions of Russia, he must be earned.
Unlike Claudinho, Malcolm is still in great shape and is the first option on the right flank of the attack - Bakaev's native position, where he is most useful (which was confirmed by the game with Fakel).
Appearing there, he is only capable of replacing, and on the left edge or in the center is not yet so effective.
But to ignore his brilliant performance in the Cup is quite problematic.
With his bright game, Zelimkhan clearly deserved another chance to gain a foothold at the start - even more than Mateo Cassierra, who scored a double.
Although the Colombian's chances to leave the reserve still look much more obvious.
Therefore, one of the main intrigues is whether Sergei Semak decides to encourage the former Spartak football player and check whether the “former rule” will work in the derby of the two capitals.
Undoubtedly, there is no doubt about Bakaev's motivation, but in his case, excessive charge may well come to him sideways.
Zelimkhan is already very emotionally experiencing every failure on the field, and in this case he may well not be able to cope with emotions.
And here he is radically different from Zobnin, who rarely allows himself to break loose.
In addition, Bakaev, like no one else, knows the weaknesses of his former teammates.
If he still starts the match on the bench, and during the second half he goes to the right flank, then he will most likely be against Daniil Khlusevich, with whom he played side by side for half of last season.
On the left, young Denisov will confront him, like his namesake, who is not famous for tenacity in defense.
Against the background of both, Zelimkhan looks preferable and can create serious problems for them.
Thus, the confrontation with Spartak may become a key one for Bakaev in some way.
If he appears in the same excellent shape as in the game with Fakel, scores a goal and / or an assist, then he will get a good argument in the dispute for a place at the base.
And it will be especially significant if Zelimkhan manages to do this as a left winger or a central midfielder.
After all, he is quite capable of ousting Mostovoy or Kuzyaev from the composition.