Fabio's Symptoms: what awaits the fans in the third round of the RPL

Spartak needs to regain its reputation after the failure with Baltika, Sergei Semak is waiting to work on mistakes in the match with CSKA, which has gained momentum, and Krasnodar risks going into a dive. Read more about the main intrigues of the 3rd round of the Russian Premier League in the Izvestia article.

Zenit – CSKA Moscow: new heroes

I even wonder if Sergey Semak will set up the team for the match, making references to the insulting departure from the Cup semi-finals in May this year. Then Zenit missed the two-goal advantage gained in the first match and lost in a penalty shootout. As a result, the season ended without titles. The transfers of Gerson and Vega should give the team a boost for the new season. There is no doubt that Zenit will make a couple more signings before the end of the transfer window.

But the more important thing is how Semak will cope with the current resource. How will he find motivation for the players, how will he adapt tactical models. In this regard, the match with CSKA will be a kind of test, if not an exam, then a work on mistakes. In the last round, the St. Petersburg team had already disappointingly missed the victory over Rubin, so now they need to rehabilitate themselves as soon as possible. A defeat against CSKA will not be a tragedy, but it will definitely set the mood for the start of the season.

The Army team still feels comfortable with Fabio Celestini. Swiss pragmatism and Italian freedom are still having a healthy effect on the team. The Cup victory over Lokomotiv should add even more confidence.

CSKA is gradually moving away from Marko Nikolic's model, and this frees the hands of previously hidden heroes. For example, Danilo Krugovoy, who opened up as a right midfielder and became the hero of the meeting with Akhmat. But so far, the whole structure is not so firmly on stilts, and therefore it is quite a real task to rock it. Especially for Zenit.

Krasnodar – Dynamo: Karpin awaiting reinforcements

The teams that are more likely to disappoint at the start. This primarily concerns the quality of the game, since there is definitely no disaster in four or even three points in two rounds. But some problems surfaced for both teams.

Krasnodar is especially disappointing so far. In the Super Cup, he was weaker than the half-dismantled CSKA, lost to Lokomotiv at home absolutely to the point, lost the first match to Krylia in the Cup (with the second team, but still), even in the victorious match with Paris NN, he had difficulty creating dangerous moments. In total, three defeats in four matches, the same number as in the entire spring. The attack is floundering, the defense has only managed to play zero once.

But we noted the same sores at the start of last season, which the Bulls failed. And then they pushed forward and did not stop. So let's put it down to growth sickness. Krasnodar's start is difficult, but if they manage to beat Dynamo, most fans and experts will forget about all the problems the very next day.

It will also be a big test for the blue and white. For now, we note that there is less showiness in the actions of the blue and white. Karpin obviously screwed up the highly offensive settings that the Personal account set, so now the team has become more pragmatic. The results have been positively affected so far — a victory and a draw in the RPL, three points in the Cup after Victoria over Sochi.

But there are many questions about quality — Dynamo have become more limited and predictable in attack. It's great that Sergeyev started in Moscow without a shake—up - he scored three goals in the first three matches at his new workplace. It is clear that the team is trying to play on him. Ivan's duel with Cordoba promises to be especially exciting. In the meantime, we are witnessing a continuation of the trend of Karpin's reunion with his exes — following Glebov and Osipenko, Zainutdinov is also working under him. Plus, Rubens is already in Moscow, transferring from Atletico Mineiro.

Paris NN – Lokomotiv: an opportunity to gain a foothold in the first place

Loko was definitely not considered by most fans as one of the contenders for the championship — the club is formed mainly by Russians, without star legionnaires. But so far, the summer has been very successful for the railwaymen — the backbone has been preserved, Pinyaev has not been released to CSKA, Galaktionov has stayed, they have pulled off several interesting transfers without spending a lot of money. But the main thing is that the team has scored two wins in the opening two rounds and is currently in first place in the standings. Yes, CSKA lost in the Cup, but nothing terrible happened for sure.

But I was impressed by Loko's away victory over Krasnodar. The red-greens did not play second, but actively attacked and tried to impose the initiative. Very boldly, and most importantly, with high quality. Of course, it begs another portion of praise for Batrakov, who scored a double, but we also note how Galaktionov quickly integrated newcomers into the attack — Rudenko and Bakaev clearly added dynamics and thought to the team. Komlichenko is still slightly behind and losing the competition to Vorobyov, but there is still time to build up.

However, you shouldn't over—praise Loko either - only two rounds have been played, and a bright start still doesn't mean anything. The railwaymen allowed 24 shots on their own goal in two games, which is quite a lot, so Galaktionov still has to tinker and tinker with the defense. But for now, it is possible to work normally, especially since there is no serious resistance from Pari NN. Zero points, zero goals scored and five goals conceded — Nizhny Novgorod fell apart both with Krasnodar at home and on the other side of the Volga away from Krylia (they looked more cheerful with Dynamo in the Cup, but still lost). In general, so far the replacement of Viktor Goncharenko with compatriot Alexei Shpilevsky has not brought results.

Akron – Spartak: will Stankovich pull out?

Well, the start of the season for Spartak in the RPL turned out to be discouraging. But this is in the style of red and white. After the victory over Dynamo Makhachkala, everyone discussed the refereeing, as if ignoring what was happening on the field. After the 0-3 loss to Baltika, many fans were probably tempted to point fingers at the referees again. Cancelled goals, eliminated leaders — are Spartak really being stifled?

Of course, the judges make controversial decisions, but the fact is that the red and white make too many mistakes individually. Even with Dynamo, they allowed a sufficient number of chances at their own goal. With Baltika remaining in the minority, they did not show any adaptability. There are also questions for Dejan Stankovic's coaching staff — he should have already got used to the team and controlled it more subtly. But, again, let's not draw premature conclusions — Spartak throws from side to side too often, they confidently coped with Rostov in the Cup. So the famous sine wave can easily rise again in the near future.

Although there will definitely be problems with Akron, especially just a few days after the suffocating departure to the Don. The team from Tolyatti is the RPL leader in the number of goals scored (5), with only one conceded. Therefore, we deserve second place before the start of the third round. The combination of Dzyuba, Boldyrev and Pestryakov communicates well and feels each other, there are also a minimum of questions about the organization of the other lines. But we won't praise Akron too much yet. A draw with Krylia and the defeat of the newcomer of the Sochi RPL are achievements of the wrong scale. But Spartak's scalp will definitely charge Tedeev's team for a long period. Now is the best time to take it off.