Leaders Zenit St. Petersburg can lift the Russian Premier League title this weekend with a win against Dan Petrescu’s FC Kuban if second-placed Spartak Moscow drop points.
Zenit are 12 points clear of Spartak with five games to go, while the Moscow side go into their game with Anzhi on Sunday knowing that only a win will ensure they remain in the title hunt.
The prospect of retaining the title is giving Zenit an addition surge of motivation for Saturday’s game, coach Luciano Spalletti said.
“The possibility of securing the championship in this match and reaching our goals can only stimulate you and give you enthusiasm to demonstrate all your class and skill,” he said in comments on the Zenit website.
Zenit will be boosted by the return from injury of forward Danko Lazovic and midfielder Viktor Fayzulin, who have both been sidelined for close to a month, but Belgian defender Nicolas Lombaerts may not play after sustaining a minor knee injury in training, Spalletti said.
Kuban go into the Zenit game without a win in their last four games, but will try to put up the same stiff resistance as in their last meeting with Zenit, a 1-1 draw last month, midfielder Vladislav Kulik has owed.
“We’re going to try to give them a fight and put in maximum effort to take points off the visitors,” Kulik told RIA Novosti on Friday.
Kuban will be seriously weakened in defense, with regular starters Igor Lolo and Zelao suspended, and Maxim Zhavnerchik injured, while creative midfielder Alexei Ionov is also out with injury.
“I hope that the lads taking on the roles of the missing players can show their best form,” Kulik said.
Spartak, by contrast, will host one of the Premier League’s most reliable defenses in the shape of Anzhi, who have conceded just three goals in seven games in 2012.
One major obstacle in Spartak’s hunt for a win Sunday will be Anzhi’s Russian international goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov, Spartak midfielder Kirill Kombarov said.
“With his arrival, Anzhi’s goalkeeping has significantly improved, without a doubt. Gabulov’s a Russian international goalkeeper, enough said,” he said in comments on the Spartak website.
But Spartak celebrated its 90th anniversary this week, and this should give the team a boost, Kombarov said.
“I hope there’ll be more than few fans, because our team is currently in the top three and the club is celebrating its 90th birthday this week,” he said.
“The main thing is that we’ll have several times more fans [than Anzhi]. And that’s our strength.”
Even if Zenit take the title, Spartak are hoping for a return to Champions League football, but capital city rivals Dynamo, Lokomotiv and CSKA all remain in the hunt for a place in Europe’s top competition.
CSKA were Zenit’s closest rivals for much of the season, but slipped to fourth after a 2-0 defeat in St. Petersburg last weekend, and will take on third-placed Dynamo on Saturday.
Ahead of the game, CSKA captain Sergei Ignashevich defended his Swedish teammate Pontus Wernbloom, who has come under fire for the physical play that has earned him five yellow cards in six games since he joined in January.
"Pontus is uncompromising both on training and during the match," Ignashevich said Thursday. "He might be physical and even sometimes impudent, but he is not cynical, as many players and referees think."
Fifth-placed Lokomotiv are two points behind Dynamo in the last Champions League place, with Rubin Kazan two points further back, as the two prepare to clash in Moscow on Sunday. Both teams have won one of their last four games, and Lokomotiv have lost both of their last two home fixtures.
In the relegation group, Amkar Perm host the weekend’s first game on Saturday, against Spartak Nalchik, who could be relegated as soon as next weekend. Later that day, 14th-placed FC Volga taken on 15th-placed FC Tomsk, who can go within three points of safety with a win.
On Sunday, Terek Grozny host FC Krasnodar, while FC Rostov travel to relegation-threatened Krylya Sovetov.
