Rostov – Lokomotiv Moscow. Editors’ prediction

Perhaps Kurban Berdyev can make miracles happen after all: The last three Rostov home wins were against the top Russian teams – Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow and Zenit. There can’t have been many people who expected Rostov to take many points from these three games, let alone the maximum of nine! Even more impressively, Berdyev’s men recorded those last three wins without conceding a single goal. Before losing to lowly Mordovia on May 1st, Rostov were unbeaten in eight league games. This will probably leave a bad taste as they know they could’ve been top of the pile.

Lokomotiv Moscow have entered a dark period now: they’ve taken only two wins from their last five games. This kind of form is unacceptable for a team who are fighting for the Europa League spot. The problem is that the Railway team have been somewhat clueless in attack, scoring only two goals in their last five games. Petar Skuletic seems to be struggling when it comes to leading the line and Ezekiel Henty is not yet experienced enough to make it into the starting XI. Not only is this bad news in general, but it’s particularly bad news because a strong attack is vital against Rostov. Remember, even Hulk & Dzyuba could do nothing at Olymp-2.

The bet to be on in this one is Rostov to win and total match goals under 2.5. The hosts have had only three games where they scored more than two goals this season. Berdyev likes to employ safe, cautious tactics. As for Lokomotiv, they are unlikely to score against Rostov, a side who conceded only 18 goals in 26 games. Even considering the fact that Loko could shorten the gap between themselves and Rostov to two points, it’s very hard indeed to see them offering any real threat today.