Thomas Giles (@Thomas_Giles_UK):
Bet One: €10 Spartak - Mordovia: Both teams to score and Spartak to win @3.20 at Bet365
Spartak have one of the best forward lines in the division and this is shown by the amount of goals they score. As a general rule they tend to score against all teams outside of the top three and, with Quincy Promes looking to regain the lead in the goalscoring charts, you can bet they score against a poor Mordovia defence.
While Mordovia’s defence is very suspect, their attack is surprisingly good and they have managed to score in their last four games. Evgeny Lutsenko is currently sixth in the goalscoring charts with eight goals and he will be looking to impress at this end of the season to earn a move away from relegation-bound Mordovia in the summer.
This should be a game full of goals from both teams but you would expect Spartak to defeat lowly Mordovia, especially with home advantage.
Bet Two: €5 Krylya Sovetov - Ural: Under 2.5 goals @1.57 at Bet365
While this bet doesn’t give you great odds it’s pretty much a banker.
Krylya are the lowest scorers in the league this season with a mere 15 goals and have not scored more than one goal in a match since the start of the spring season. However, they do have a decent defensive record, having only conceded 26.
Ural, while not at the same level as Krylya, have had their own goalscoring issues in recent weeks and, again similar to their opponents, are pretty solid at the back (bar their fluke 6-0 loss to Krasnodar) so the tepid Krylya attack should not cause them any worries defensively.
Bet Three: €5 FC Krasnodar - Ufa: Fyodor Smolov to score first @4.75 at Bet365
You could go for anytime goalscorer at 2.10 but just to make it more interesting I have gone for first goalscorer. Smolov is currently top of the goalscoring charts after six goals in his last four games and will be looking to cement the golden boot in order to impress Russia boss Leonid Slutsky in time for the European Championships this summer. He is bound to score at some point, whether you put the risk on it being first is up to you!
Vincent Tanguy (@Spartak_M_VT):
Bet One: €10 Spartak - Mordovia: Quincy Promes scores @2 at Bet365
After last week’s defeat against Zenit, Spartak are now playing at home against Mordovia who are 15th in the league. It has been a long week for the Spartak supporters, who saw their former star Artyom Dzyuba score against them last week, but not the team have to pay the faithful fans back at Otkritie Arena. I’m still waiting for Lorenzo Melgarejo’s first goal, but it seems more realistic that Promes scores.
Nevertheless, Spartak needs to redeem themselves, and they have good chances against a struggling Mordovia side, who are fighting to avoid relegation. Mordovia’s players are futhermore unhappy with their wages not being paid on time.
Bet Two: €5 CSKA - Dinamo: CSKA Victory and over 2.5 goals @2.25 at Bet365
Rarely have a Moscow derby been more disbalanced than this one. CSKA are fighting for the title, while Dinamo are fighting to avoid relegation.
CSKA played against Krasnodar in the Russian cup this week, and qualified for the final, and I simply don’t see the Red-Blues losing points at home. I furthermore expect goals, as we saw Dinamo look very exposed against Dinamo last weekend.
Bet Three: €5 Rostov - Zenit: Rostov victory @3.5 at Bet365
This is the major game this weekend, as neither of the sides can avoid to lose.
The atmosphere at the stadium will be great, and Rostov have already proved that playing against top teams isn’t a problem for them. Since the winter break, both Spartak and CSKA have lost in Rostov-on-Don, and Berdyev’s players have therefore proven that their first place is well-deserved.
On the other hand, Zenit won a derby against Spartak last week, while they also qualified for the Russian cup final after a penalty kick victory against Amkar Wednesday evening. It is therefore likely that the players will be tired.
AVB’s boys know what’s waiting for them Sunday: Physical confrontations, team spirit, and yet another game without the captain Danny.
While Zenit obviously have the best team on paper, I feel that Russia’s Leicester City can make a difference at home, and winning this game would be a huge step towards the club’s first championship.
Vincent Tanguy: +€120 (hit rate: 1/4 - 25 %)
David Sansun: +€109.15 (hit rate: 5/18 – 27.77 %)
Ben Clark: +€92 (hit rate: 8/15 – 53.33%)
Thomas Giles: +€54.85 (hit rate 9/15 – 60 %)
Toke Theilade: +€11.89 (hit rate: 6/12 – 50 %)
Andrew Flint: -€20 (hit rate: 5/21 – 23.80 %)
Danny Armstrong: -€8 (hit rate: 2/6 – 33,33 %)
Shane Burns: -€39.55 (hit rate: 2/8 – 25 %)
Ilya Sokolov: -€39,6 (hit rate: 5/17 – 29,4%)
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