Lokomotiv Moscow v CSKA Moscow
Football: Russian Premier League
Sunday, 12th September 2010. Kickoff 12:00 GMT

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Against all odds Yury Semin kept his head coach position at Lokomotiv and is in upbeat mood to bridge the gap on the European cup zone. Railway club had a horrible month of August and,perhaps, superstitiously hope to put its’ season back on track in September.

Lokomotiv kept a low profile on the transfer market becoming literally the only Premier League club not to make any purchases, if not to take arrival of right back Shishkin into consideration. Departures of regular defensive midfielder Duimovic, striker Odemvingie, right back Kuzmin over the course of summer may have eased the payroll but clearly indicated the beginning of hard times at the club.

Semin himself said at a recent press-conference that he doesn’t see any enthusiasm in player’s eyes. Well, this is something the manager has to take care of above anyone or anything else. I personally believe there will be no turning point in Lokomotiv’s season right until the winter break. It can only get worse.

CSKA on the contrary is Lokomotiv’s complete antipode at the moment. There is no other team in Premier League who enjoys football as much as Army-men do. Having boosted its’ squad with quality signings like Tosic and Doumbia and a spice added by the return of Vanger Love to Russia – CSKA is a real force to be reckoned with. Main task, of course, since they are not involved in Champions League this term, is to catch up with Zenit and try provide some sort of competition to run-away leaders.

Unfortunately Doumbia is set to miss the match for CSKA. Torbinskiy and Draman are sidelined for hosts.

Betting advice

Although CSKA is on a 5 match winning streak, I wouldn't be overestimating these results. Opponents were so favorable with the likes of Alanya,Anzhi and Anorthosis in Europa League, that the huge number of scored goals against them is nothing special. Furthermore CSKA's manager Leonid Slutsky is known for his inability to win "big games".

So putting your money on CSKA is not as safe investment at given odds.
Better option is to consider the over 2.25 goal line. Loko has conceded at least 3 goals in 3 consecutive matches, while CSKA is free scoring and shouldn't stop the trend.

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Over 2,25 goals @ 1.77 with Bet365;