FC Rostov is hosting Zenit St. Petersburg at Rostov Arena in round 2 of the Russia Premier League. Rostov is very inconsistent, but they are now on a 2-game losing streak. Zenit has recently won the Russia Super Cup, and they have won their season opener last week.
Rostov is an average Russian team, and they ended last season in 9th place, in the middle of the standings. In their season opener against Dynamo Moscow, Rostov has had 56% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 3 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and only 69% of the correct passes. Rostov might have had more possession, but Dynamo was the better team in every other aspect. Rostov has lost this game 0-2. Every team has ambitions, whether is that to stay in the league, or to qualify for one of the European competitions, or maybe got for the title, and Rostov is not an exception, however, the team that has won only 3 of their last 9 games can’t count on anything. Of course, the season has just started, and there is plenty of time for them to turn the season around, but they need to get their game in order.
It’s clear now that Zenit is the best team in Russia, and they have been over the last few seasons. Zenit has won the title last season, and they will be playing in the Champions League group stage. A couple of weeks ago, Zenit was playing against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Super Cup, and they have dominantly won that competition. In their first game of the season, Zenit was playing against Khimki on the road, and they were the better team with 61% of ball possession, 7 shots on goal, 8 corner kicks, 5 big chances created, and 80% of the correct passes. After conceding a goal in the 28th minute, Zenit has quickly tied the score, while scoring 2 more goals in the second half. Zenit has won this game 1-3. Azmoun, Erokhin, and Sutormin have each scored 1 goal for Zenit so far this season. Zenit is definitely the biggest favorite to win another title, and if they get lucky in the Champions League draw, they could get through the group stage, but that is still a couple of months away. Zenit has a lot of good players, and they are playing solid soccer, and I honestly think they will win another title in Russia.
Rostov hasn’t had a lot of success against Zenit, while Zenit hasn’t lost any of their last 14 games. Zenit also hasn’t lost any of their last 6 games on the road, and they are on a 3-game winning streak. There is no other choice but to take Zenit here.