RUSSIAN LEAGUE BETTING PICK - ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG V SPARTAK MOSCOW

Russian League

2010-03-21 - Zenit St. Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow

A Sports Betting Pick by Pantocrator

Zenit St. Petersburg v Spartak Moscow
Football: Russian Premier League. 2nd matchday
Sunday, 21st March 2010. Kickoff 12:00

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Zenit St.Petersburg

Luciano Spalletti is set for a premier performance in front of Zenit supporters as the big-spending club welcomes arch-rivals Spartak Moscow in the 2nd round of Premier League.

A week ago St. Petersburg side travelled to Samara, where sinking Krylia Sovetov put up a real fight and eventually surrendered after a second half strike from Danny. Up until that moment Zenit's chances to get a victory looked quite low.

Passing play lacked necessary precision, the pitch was too hard to improvise and the intensity of Krylia's back line was so high, that quick fellas like Bystrov, Danny, Kerzhakov and Lazovic had no free zones to run into. Absence of a tall striker up front also proved a major problem. Numerous crosses and set-piece situations lead to nothing as there was no one on the end of it.

Of course, Spartak Moscow will not keep 9 men in their own half, so Zenit's attacking perspectives look brighter here. Team captain Alexandr Anyukov is ready to start at the right back position, which should send Tomas Hubocan to the other flank. Danko Lazovic looked solid after coming on the pitch as a substitute last week, so he has every chance of making the first eleven.

Expected formation and line up :
Zenit(4-2-3-1)
Malafeev
Anyukov, Lombaerts, Krizanac, Hubocan
Denisov, Ziryanov
Bystrov, Danny, Lazovic
Kerzhakov

Unavailable
cd. F. Meira (regular/supporting),
lb. R. Sirl (regular/supporting);

Spartak Moscow

Spartak's last week loss to Dynamo Moscow inspired a huge wave of controversy and comments in the mass-media. Valery Karpin's post-match reactions also became a subject of heated discussions after Spartak's head coach called both the game and the participated sides "shitty".

He couldn't have said it better, though. Spartak indeed surprised many with his poor display at the Luzhniki stadium. Emotions had the better of the players and right until the final whistle the team did sent its' energy at wrong targets. Brazilian prima Alex had a disappointing evening, and that was already enough to weaken Spartak's game level by 50%.

Red-Whites enjoy a good h2h history against Zenit in St. Petersburg and know how to upset the hosts. Last year these opponents met in the last round of the season, but by that time Spartak Moscow lost all tournament motivation and did not give their best.

Expected formation and line up :
Spartak Moscow (4-2-3-1)
Dzhanaev
Parshivlyuk, Suchy, Jiranek,
Ibson, Sabitov
Makeev, Alex, Djanaev
Welliton

Unavailable
mid. N. Drincic (regular),
mid. Maidana (supporting),
gk. S. Pletikosa (supporting),
mid. A. Sheshukov (supporting/regular),
cd. M. Stranzl (important);

Betting advice

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about Spartak's perspectives for the season. Many specialists have already written Karpin's team off and put a lot of unjustified tags on the players.

I would like to state to points here. The loss to Dynamo Moscow was purely a psychological one as the players had virtually burned out with desire to get an impressive win; The second point is a reminder that Spartak was the best pre-season team amongst Premier League competitors remaining undefeated in friendlies.

On the other hand Zenit did not show anything extra-ordinary in Samara to be considered favorites in today's game. Moreover Spalletti's teams usually have a less than convincing starts to the season.

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