Spartak.Moscow-CSKA.Moscow
Football: Russian Premier League 2009/2010
Saturday, 21st November 2009. Kickoff 12:00

---

Spartak Moscow (2nd) HOME 10-2-2 35:10

Spartak is out of the race for the title, even though mathematically they could still leap frog Rubin. The 1-2 defeat in Samara against Krylia Sovetov extended the handicap to 4 points with only 2 rounds remaining. Spartak is scheduled to face Zenit in St. Petersburg. Pletikosa, Saenko and Maidana are long-term casualties.

Despite the loss in Samara, I don’t expect Valery Karpin to make any drastic changes to the starting line-up. Brazilian newbie Ibson played his first full match against Krylia Sovetov as Rafael Carioca was not even part of the 18 man squad. No new suspensions or injuries means Spartak will likely stick to the usual line up.

Tactic/Mood/Confidence
CSKA had developed into a bogey opponent for Spartak in recent years, but the sad tendency was broken by Mikael Laudrup last season.

Valery Karpin already celebrated a victory against Army men in the first leg, which was bagged through great fighting spirit and attitude. Spartak will probably try to use the same trumps: extreme speed and full-team pressing.

This will be a determinative match for Spartak. Interesting to see how players react to the lost championship race. Anyhow confidence should be subdued. 2 weeks break, at the same time, is exactly what the team needed after the loss.

Last match analysis Krylia Sovetov - Spartak Moscow 2-1
Against all odds Krylia were 2 goals ahead by the 15th minute of the match. Anton Bober twice a free kick shots and two awkward unfortunate deflections off Martin Stranzl and then Soslan Dzhanaev put the hosts in front. 2:0 lead was too much even for Krylia as they just ran around for the remainder of the match.

Freezing conditions must have affected Spartak’ s Brazilian contingent: Ibson,Alex and Welliton were all off form and that was enough to see visitors suffer. Alex scored a cancellation goal on the 90th minute, but it was too little and too late.

The match has once again proved how vital Brazilians are for Spartak. As Alex and Welliton continually failed to create anything up front, none of their team mates stepped up to take the leading role.

Ibson’s full match debut was somewhat average, while Rafael Carioca’s absence can’t be considered crucial and decisive. It was Spartak’s very unfortunate loss, something that would have happened eventually sooner or later.

CSKA Moscow (6th) AWAY 6-3-5 19:15

CSKA is now in real danger of missing out of the top 5 finish and the European Cups for next season. New manager Leonid Slutsky lost his first official game with Army-men and has further inspired skepticism towards his figure from team’s supporters. Tomas Necid is finally available for selection in attack. Ever-injured Mark Gonzalez is…injured alongside Piliev and Guilherme.

Leonid Slutsky is again limited in offensive selection as Tomas Necid is the only available striker. Czech’s appearance on the edge of offensive line is absolutely guaranteed. Problematic position of the left winger has been recently solved with nominal defensive midfielder Pavel Mamaev. Overall it is proving to be a successful decision.

Tactic/Mood/Confidence
Leonid Slutsky is a bogey, or even cursed, manager for Spartak Moscow. He has faced Red-Whites around 20 times in his professional career and just once succumbed to a defeat. This only means that Slutsky knows how to withstand Spartak.

CSKA has a lot of internationals who were on duty during the break which allowed them to digress from domestic problems.

Last match analysis CSKA - Rubin 0-20
Naturally the tempo of the match was relatively slow as both teams had midweek fixtures in the Champions’ League. CSKA looked more dangerous and vigor in attack combining well through Krasic and Dzagoev.

Army-men advantage grew after the break and it took some heroics from Sergey Ryzhikov to twice deny Maazu from definite goals. But as it often happens in football – if you don’t score – you concede. A dead-ball situation on the corner of CSKA’s penalty area was sent goalwards by Dominguez and the ball ended up at the back of the net after a flick on by Cesar Navas. Alexand Bukharov increased the lead with his 40 meter effort which flew over Akinfeev.

CSKA can actually enter the match against Rubin as an asset. The loss was considerably undeserved as hosts looked the better side up until the conceded goal. It was a type of game where the team which scores first – wins.

Niger striker Moussa Maazu who got a rare chance to play a full match in the absence of suspended Necid wasted about 3 fine opportunities and probably was one of the main persons to blame for the final result.

Betting advice

My guts are telling me to back CSKA here, especially given the odds. It may be a very controversial pick as nominal visitors are weakened and many of their players are coming off an intense international schedule.

However Spartak’s game may suffer after the short break and the slim chances for the title can get impossible if CSKA scores first.

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take CSKA Moscow (0) @ 2.37 with Bet365