4/1 Russian Premier League double. Artur Petrosyan’s prediction

Lokomotiv – CSKA

Not a single shot on goal – that’s what Lokomotiv showed at Krylya Sovetov on Monday. Losing Oumar Niasse and not bringing in any decent replacement keeps influencing the Railway men’s performance nearly every week. And, if it so happens that their best player of the season Aleksandr Samedov is not at his best, they’re simply becoming a painful side to watch.

Having said this, they’re still a really organized side who’re not too easy to break down. I do think CSKA will have good chances to do that though. The Leonid Slutskiy’s side returned to winning ways by thrashing Mordovia 7-1, and that surely brought some extra confidence to them after losing 2 of their 3 games prior to this.

CSKA do have an issue at left back, as neither Georgi Schennikov, nor Aleksandr Cauna will likely feature, but in every other area they’re still superior to Loko.

CSKA to win – 2.15

Zenit – Spartak Moscow

Nothing new with Spartak Moscow. They’re still a mess, not just the team, but also the club. The fans are obviously getting fed up with the president Leonid Fedun and are making themselves heard, but all they’ve done is secure a ban on their section for the next home game.

Spartak have spent over €150m since 2010, but they still can’t get anywhere near their first league title since 2001. The Red-and-Whites are still laughable in defense, with Quincy Promes being the only bright spot up front.

Zenit on the other hand have just had their fourth win in four games, all of them with a 2-goal margin. They’re now just three points off the top spot and are pilling the pressure on CSKA.

The thing is it’s a big derby in Russia where the two biggest cities decide who’s better. That’s the only reason that can explain why Zenit have been unable to beat Spartak in the last four encounters, having been favourites in all of them.

I think this time they’ll succeed. Even Andre Villas Boas who doesn’t look too interested in what’s going on around apart from his day-to-day job, has voiced a will to finally beat Spartak before his depature. He’s never done it before, he probably will on Saturday.

Zenit Total Goals Over 2 Asian handicap – 2.35