Russian League
2010-08-14 - Zenit St. Petersburg vs Dynamo Moscow
A Sports Betting Pick by Pantocrator
Football: Russian Premier League
Saturday, 14th August 2010. Kickoff 14:00
Neither of the two teams were involved in last week's games as 2 high-profile fixtures Spartak M.-Zenit St.Petersburg and CSKA-Dynamo M. had been cancelled due to severe ecological conditions in Moscow.
Hard to foresee if the sudden break helped anyone, but theoretically Zenit should've benefit from that decision more. Spalletti's squadra (btw, almost azzura) is, as you might know, unrivaled in Russian Premier League with a astonishing 12-3-0 record. Furthermore, Zenit is unbeaten under the italian bold-headed maestro since his arrival.
Zenit's provocative transfer activity has reportedly come to a close. After luring the services of Aleksandr Bukharov from Rubin Kazan, they snatched his former team mate 34 year old charismatic Sergey Semak. A very questionable transfer inspired even more resentment amongst opposing fans.
Zenit has crawled through to Champions League play-offs where they've been drawn to face Ligue 1 outfit Auxerre. First leg is just around the corner, so we could see some new introduction on Saturday. As around a dozen of Zenit's players were involved in international friendlies in midweek, it's high time for Spalletti to use all the possible resources.
Dynamo's season is in decline, albeit generous investments in new transfers. Miodrag Bojovic's appointment proves to be a huge flop as the Montenegrin specialist has done nothing to improve the situation. Team still lacks a concrete game-play failing to come up with any interesting ideas on the pitch.
The Blue-Whites are stuck in the lower part of the table with a dismal 4-7-4 record and were soundly held by financially troubled Krylia Sovetov to a 1-1 draw a fortnight ago. Pressure is mounting on Bojovic as demandable sponsors are starting to lose patience.
Dynamo made the headlines this week due to Kombarov brothers decision to join city-rivals Spartak Moscow. Although the upcoming transfer has not been officially confirmed by either of the parties - it seems imminent. It only means that Dynamo will invite at least 2 players to fill in the empty positions before transfer window closes.
Betting advice
Zenit's unbeaten run is so long that it makes me stay away from betting on or against them.
Witnessing Dynamo's vulnerable defense in recent games I'd suggest going for the safe over 2 goals option.
