CSKA Moscow-Spartak Moscow
Football : Russian : Premier League
Saturday, 20th November 2010. Kickoff 12:00 CET

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CSKA Moscow

CSKA Moscow had a significant number of players (11) out on international duty in midweek. A total of 10 regulars were involved in Wednesday’s friendlies. CSKA goes into the derby having lost chances of clinching the Premier League title. They were buried in rather frustrating fashion by Spartak Nalchik late equalizer.

CSKA manager Leonid Slutsky is now chasing the 2nd spot which would guarantee CSKA automatic qualification to Champions League group stage. To much of public’s discontent the big Russian derby will be held as Arena Khimki which can only accommodate 18 500 spectators.

The controversial decision by CSKA’s management actually has a good logical explanation. If the match was played at Luzhniki (81 000 stadium) Spartak would have an advantage in the number of supporters and that would make the fixture rather “neutral” than “home” for Army men.

It is the first time since quite a long time that the big derby will be played at such a low-capacity venue. Nevertheless tactically wise it is a fair and wise decision by CSKA, especially, taking into account the tournament situation they find themselves in.

From the full-strength side only striker Vagner Love, right back Nababkin, midfielders Semberas and Honda were not called to their national teams. Leonid Slutsky and the fitness-coach will have to look deep into players conditions before determining the starting line up.

I'm almost sure we will see Alan Dzagoev and Zoran Tosic at the bench as the duo is currently out of form.

Spartak Moscow

Spartak's season finale is highlighted by two great games in short succession. First comes the big Russian derby and then, in just 3 days, the most important match of the season – against Marseille.

After missing chances of finishing inside the Champions League zone (top 3) Spartak had a motivational lay-up resulting in 0-0 home draw against Krylia Sovetov. Visitors are set to welcome back striker Ari and defensive midfielder Sheshukov, while Alex and Parshivlyuk are still unavailable.

Valery Karpin finds himself in a very tricky situation. The match against Marseille will be at the back of players’ minds no matter how hard the head coach tries to focus them on the derby. Spartak has no tournament motivation behind the game against CSKA.

Ending up in 4th or 5th position in the final ranking does not make a big difference for the club and its supporters. If the final place is outside the Champions League zone – then the season can be considered a flop anyway. So the only opportunity to give this year a positive look is to beat Marseille on Tuesday.

Valery Karpin should welcome Ari to the starting line up after the Brazilian spent about 3 weeks on the sidelines. On the other hand he could decide not to run in front of the train and leave him for the second half. In this case the midfield duo will be composed of Sheshukov and Drincic, while Ibson gets the playmaker role behind Welliton.

Center backs Pareja and Suchy, right winger McGeady and fantasista Jano were involved in international fixtures on Wednesday.

Betting advice

CSKA always has problems in games which follow shortly after international fixtures. This makes the option of backing hosts rather tricky.

Spartak, on the other hand, has an upcoming match against Marseille as a potential disturbing factor for some foreigners who might not treat the derby that seriously (Pareja,McGeady).

It is a tough one to call and I'm leaning more to considering the over 2.50 goal option.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Over 2.50 goals @ 1.90 with Bet365