The second leg of the Russian Cup 2024/25 RPL Path semi-final between Zenit and Rostov will take place on April 16 at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg. The first match ended with a 1-0 victory for Zenit. Zenit vs. Rostov: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Zenit
Sergei Semak's team secured a 1-0 away win in the first match, extending their unbeaten run in regular time in the Russian Cup to 15 matches (11 wins, 4 draws). Additionally, Zenit has kept a clean sheet six times in the current tournament. The team has also been prolific in front of goal, scoring 19 times in this national cup, ranking third only to two clubs in this regard.
- The club has not lost in regular time in their last 15 home matches in the Russian Cup (11 wins, 4 draws).
- The team has scored at least two goals in 90 minutes in 5 of their last 7 home games in this tournament.
- Zenit has kept a clean sheet in regular time in 7 of their last 8 home matches in the national cup.
Predicted lineup for Zenit (4-5-1)
Denis Adamov – Dmitry Chistyakov, Vanja Drkusic, Nuraly Alip, Yuri Gorshkov – Ognen Mimovic, Wilmar Barrios, Ilzat Akhmetov, Pedro Enrique, Luis Enrique – Alexander Sobolev.
Defender Vyacheslav Karavaev will not play due to injury.
Rostov
After losing the first match, Rostov ended their seven-match unbeaten streak in regular time in the national cup (5 wins, 2 draws). Additionally, Rostov failed to score for only the second time in the current tournament. The team has struggled to keep clean sheets, conceding in 9 of their last 11 Russian Cup matches.
- The team has not won in regular time in 15 of their last 19 away matches in the national cup (4 draws, 11 losses).
- At least one team failed to score in 5 of Rostov's last 7 away matches in this tournament.
- No more than two goals have been scored in regular time in 9 of Rostov's last 12 away matches in the Russian Cup.
Predicted lineup for Rostov (4-3-3)
Daniil Odoyevsky – Daniil Shantaliy, Maksim Osipenko, Umar Sako, Nikolay Poyarkov – Konstantin Kuchaev, Alexey Koltakov, Alexey Sutormin – Ronaldo, Mohammad Mohebi, Khoren Bayramyan.
Referee
Vitaly Meshkov (Russia)
Matches – 12 (RPL and Russian Cup, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 54;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.5;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 28;
Penalties – 25%.
Zenit vs. Rostov: Match Prediction
Zenit plays confidently at home in cup matches, often securing victories without exerting significant effort, usually scoring a limited number of goals. In 11 of their last 14 home matches in the national cup, Zenit has not scored more than two goals in regular time. Meanwhile, they have allowed their opponents very little in attack, conceding only in four of their last 15 home matches in this tournament.
Rostov has shown mixed results away from home and rarely achieves high scores. In 11 of their last 13 away matches in the Russian Cup, they have not scored more than once in 90 minutes, and in four instances, they failed to score at all. However, in their last seven away matches in this tournament, Rostov has conceded a maximum of two goals and kept three clean sheets.
I don't expect many goals in this encounter. My prediction: Total under 3
