Zenit Saint Petersburg Form
After being knocked out of the upper bracket of the Russian Cup, the St Petersburg club have already come through two rounds in the Regions Path, beating Baltika and Makhachkala representatives by the same 1:0 scoreline. The defeat to Dynamo Moscow is the team’s only loss in the current edition of the tournament, with Sergei Semak’s men winning in regulation time in the other nine matches. It is also worth noting that Zenit Saint Petersburg, who were the top-scoring club in the group stage, have scored exactly one goal in each of their previous four games in the national cup. However, the side have not conceded in three straight matches in this competition.
- At least one team failed to score in five of the last six Russian Cup matches involving Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- On home soil, Zenit Saint Petersburg have won 10 of their previous 11 matches (one defeat).
- In six of the last eight home games in the national cup, the club have kept a clean sheet.
Potential Zenit Saint Petersburg Lineup (4-5-1)*
Evgeny Latyshonok – Nuraly Alip, Roman Vega, Vyacheslav Karavaev, Igor Diveev – Yuri Gorshkov, Luis Enrique, Andrey Mostovoy, Wilmar Barrios, Daniil Kondakov – Jhon Duran.
Spartak Moscow Form
The tie against city rivals Dynamo Moscow in the previous round proved unsuccessful for Juan Carcedo’s men. After a heavy defeat in the first leg (2:5), Spartak Moscow responded in the return match, but only won 1:0, so the club dropped into the lower bracket of the tournament. The Moscow side are taking part in this stage for the third consecutive time, but they have not managed to get past it so far. It is also worth adding that in the previous round Spartak Moscow managed to end a six-match run of conceding in the Russian Cup. At the same time, the team have scored in 15 straight matches in this competition.
- At least three goals were scored in seven of Spartak Moscow’s last eight matches in the national cup.
- Away from home in this tournament, the club have won five of their previous six matches (one defeat).
- In their last six away games in the Russian Cup, the team scored at least twice.
Potential Spartak Moscow Lineup (4-5-1)*
Aleksandr Maksimenko – Daniil Denisov, Oleg Ryabchuk, Aleksandr Dzhikiya, Christopher Wu – Ezequiel Barco, Ruslan Litvinov, Gedson Fernandes, Roman Zobnin, Nikita Massalyga – Manfred Ugalde.
In the treatment room, the team have defenders Srdjan Babic and Ilya Samoshnikov, as well as midfielder Vladislav Saus. Forward Theo Bongonda will miss the match due to a late return from international duty.
Who Will Referee the Match
Artem Chistyakov (Russia)
Matches – 6 (Russian Cup, 2023/24–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 22;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.7;
Red cards shown – 0;
Fouls per match on average – 29;
Penalties – 33%.
* For each team, the starting XI from their last match in this tournament is shown.
