Top Bets for Super Sunday in the Russian Premier League

The WhoScored vs Bookmaker Ratings betting tip battle recommences ahead of this weekend, once again looking ahead to two top matches.

We’ll be picking one bet apiece from the biggest games in the Russian Premier League this time out, with a capital city derby between CSKA and Dinamo and the top of the table clash between FK Rostov and a resurgent Zenit in the spotlight. This week the pressure’s on WhoScored, taking on Russian football expert and BR pundit Artur Petrosyan.

With a point awarded for each correct tip the standings are 8-4 in our favour, so first up, here are Artur’s tips for Sunday’s matches.

CSKA Moscow vs Dinamo Moscow

Dinamo have won only once since November and have now lost three in a row, conceding 9 goals. They’ve got all sorts of problems on the pitch and it’s hard to see how they can progress with one of the owners not willing to sack the head coach Andrei Kobelev.

 
The fans of both teams might be friendly to each other, but I doubt proceedings on the pitch will be too friendly. The hosts really ought to win here and win comfortably. After all, the league is still CSKA’s top priority as both the title and even a place in the Champions League coming into question in recent weeks.

Odds on CSKA -1 handicap are @2.15.

FK Rostov vs Zenit

Zenit lost their main creative force in Danny for the season last week and his absence was certainly felt in their Cup semi-final on Wednesday. They were clearly superior to Amkar, but without their chief lock picker they lacked that one brilliant touch or final pass. Despite this lack of creativity, the team from St. Petersburg did go through on penalties, but scored only once in 120 minutes.

They might have to deal with the same problem when travelling to face Rostov, a team who’ve have kept clean sheets in each of their last 7 league matches. Rostov, who are still top of the league, have, without any question, the best defence in Russia and you can expect an even more cautious approach to this game. I think they’ll be happy with a draw here (odds @3.10), and they’ve got a very good chance of getting it.

WhoScored’s say

Let’s just say I was very tempted to go with Artur’s tip for the CSKA-Dinamo game myself. The visitors are in a bad way right now, facing a side with the best home record in the division so I only see it going one way. As for his tip of a stalemate when Rostov host Zenit, the odds also look tempting. That said, while the visitors will be without the injured Danny, both Hulk and Artem Dzyuba have returned from the break in fine form, with 9 goals between them in 6 matches. I too think it will be a tight affair, but an in form Zenit side will be confident.

WhoScored’s tips

CSKA Moscow vs Dinamo Moscow - full match preview

While there is plenty of distance between these two rivals in the table, a fierce derby can throw up all kinds of surprises. Indeed, Dinamo have gone into this fixture as underdogs plenty of times in the past but have a superb record against CSKA in recent years. This weekend’s hosts ended a run of 12 league meetings without victory against Dinamo in the reverse fixture this season, but 6 matches have passed since they last picked up 3 points in this derby at home.

That said, with 29 points from 12 home games CSKA boast the best record in Russia, inspiring their title bid, while Dinamo have won just twice away from home all season, leading to an unexpected battle agains the drop. As a result I’m confident the hosts can complete a league double against their Moscow rivals for the first time since 2009, backing an open encounter with both sides in need of the points for very different reasons, with odds of 2.20 on CSKA to win with an over 2.5 goal scoreline.

FK Rostov vs Zenit St. Petersburg - full match preview

Rounding off this week’s action in Russia is the main event. FK Rostov have stunned the nation to lead the league with 6 games to go having only avoided the drop by virtue of their head-to-head record against Torpedo Moscow last season. Their meteoric rise left the rest of the league in shock, including reigning champions Zenit, who had a dismal campaign ahead of the winter break. However, Andre Villas-Boas’ side look back to their best and could leapfrog Rostov with a sixth consecutive win this weekend, with plenty at stake.

There’s no question as to the basis of the hosts’ surprising success thus far, boasting the best defensive record by a distance (16 conceded), with as many as 8 sides scoring more goals (29). A current streak of 7 consecutive clean sheets is the longest of its kind in Russia’s top-flight all season, but that will be put to the test against the division’s top scorers. Nevertheless, in what may well be a tense affair early on I’m backing the home defence to stand firm once more, resisting the powers of Hulk and co. until half-time at the least, with tempting odds of 3.10 on Zenit to score their first goal in the second half.

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