Moscow clubs are ready to give battle to the hegemon: who will bypass Zenit

In the past 5 seasons of the Russian Premier League, Zenit has been the main force in Russian football. It was impossible to get close to the St. Petersburg team either in terms of play or in terms of transfer. Due to the fact that the club creates comfortable conditions for newcomers (especially legionnaires), there is a tendency for the best players to move to St. Petersburg.

However, playing without European cups, it is difficult for the star Zenit players to look for motivation to become a champion for the sake of the championship itself. This summer, the team is clearly something going wrong. Management and club media deny the conflict in the team. But even if it really is not, Zenit does not look as out of reach as it did a couple of years ago. A simple example – the season has already begun (“Zenith” played in the Super Bowl – ed.), and the second best player on the team, Wendel, is still in Brazil. And looking for a new team.

If the St. Petersburg problems are not resolved in the very near future, it seems that the Moscow clubs have a real chance to get Zenit and impose a fight on it until the very last rounds of the championship.

Spartak and his transfers

Moscow “Spartak” and its fans regularly come into conflict with “Zenith”. Sometimes the “red-whites” even get offended. Quincy Promes said last year that Zenit is not a principal rival for the team at all, and matches with CSKA are much more important.

Let’s not doubt the sincerity of Promes. But the fact is that the matches of the “red-whites” against the “blue-white-blues” always turn out to be sparkling. And discussions of controversial issues do not subside until the end of the season.

And if over the past 5 years all Spartak replicas could be divided into two (let’s be honest, the Moscow club claimed a maximum of silver), then the activity of the “red-whites” in the transfer market makes us believe that Spartak will really resist ” Zenith” not only in the media space, but also on the field.

The signing of Theo Bongonda by the Red-Whites is a transfer of a very serious level, especially in the current conditions, when few people want to go to the Russian Championship. Theo is the former leader of the Spanish “Cadiz”, a dense middle peasant in La Liga. Bongonda has both speed and a good left hand. In Spartak, all transfers are usually measured by Quincy Promes and so far Bongonda looks like the one who will get as close as possible to the Dutch fan favorite.

The scandalous transfer of Jesus Medina from CSKA to Spartak is useful for the Red-Whites not only from a media point of view. Jesus is a league-adapted player who has already shown his level. From a playing point of view, Medina is an even more reliable option than Bongonda, everyone has already seen what Jesus is capable of and how he excels on the field.

The Spartak signing of defender Evakovich failed because Zenit decided to remind who the champion is. The Serbian national team player was already ready to move to Moscow, but at the last moment the St. Petersburg team gave Crvena Zvezda the best offer – there would be no Serb in Spartak.

Left-back Rogerio (Italian Sassuolo) and centre-back Davinson Sanchez (English Tottenham) are still on the red-white shortlist. And the failure with Erakovic may push the leadership to act more decisively in negotiations on expensive Sanchez (cost – about 15 million euros).

Spartak has already declared itself, but if 2-3 more transfers of 10 million are added to Bongonde and Medina, any result other than the championship will bring negative emotions to both the club itself and the fans. When a team spends so much, the result must be appropriate.

The updated Spartak will play the first match open to the public with the Azerbaijani Neftchi on July 18, 3 days before the start of the RPL.

CSKA without a bench

CSKA Moscow is the second RPL club in the 22/23 season. The team of Vladimir Fedotov took silver in the last rounds and won the Russian Cup. In the summer, the army team lost Medina and failed with the transfer of Fernandez, who chose Zenit instead of his native CSKA.

Without a single signing, CSKA trampled Zenit into the lawn in the match for the Russian Super Cup, losing in the lottery penalty shootout (although the “army team” lacked experience in the series, so defeat on penalties looks logical). It is logical to assume that with the missing depth of the squad, it is simply impossible to fight for the championship: any injury is a key loss. Therefore, CSKA is still waiting for at least some transfers to the entrance. The club clearly needs an offensive player to replace Medina, they need a defensive midfielder and a versatile player on the flank. Yes, the transfer window will not close any time soon, but the teams will begin to score points on July 21, and not at the end of the transfer period.

The leadership of the “army men” needs to decide something. The team is already playing at the level of the Russian champion with an FNL-level bench, so Carrascal can also leave the team. As the Super Bowl showed, Akinfeev cannot save forever, so positional reinforcements are what can allow the “army team” to fight for the first line of the RPL.

In the pre-season matches, CSKA played Dynamo Moscow twice, losing both meetings. It is clear that the status of the Fraternal Cup is friendly, and the “soldiers” have shown how they can play in the match for the Super Cup. But the championship is not won in one match, it is necessary to beat not only principal opponents, but also tough outsiders who will close in their own penalty area and will not allow CSKA players to build combinations. And the key to such victories is the depth of the composition and the ability to play differently thanks to it.

CSKA fans definitely expect great things from the team after such a close Super Bowl, but CSKA needs to do something to live up to these expectations.

“Dynamo” wants to jump above his head

Dynamo Moscow had a very disappointing 22/23 season finishing only 9th in their centenary year. This season, the team is set to redeem themselves for the failure. And has already made several key signings.

First of all, Marcel Lichka. The head coach has proven himself very well in the RPL, in Dynamo they really believe in a specialist and his methods. Lichka has already managed to please the fans with victories in the Fraternal Cup over CSKA, and the main test lies ahead.

The blue-and-whites have signed Mexican national team midfielder Luis Chavez, who should revive the Dynamo center of the field. Chavez just recently won the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico, so the player will come to Moscow motivated and hungry for new victories.

Plus, the team is interested in Jorge Carrascal from CSKA, who does not quite fit into the system of the army, but has all the necessary qualities of an attacking midfielder.

Dynamo this summer may part with Arsen Zakharyan, who is being asked to join European clubs. If this happens, the club will have an impressive amount for further transfers (offers for Arsene start from 10 million euros), and Zakharyan will leave for a higher-level championship. Both sides win.

Dynamo had a very cheerful pre-season without losing a single match. They beat SKA-Khabarovsk, twice – CSKA and Nizhny.

Moscow “Dynamo” can become the very “gray horse” of the 23/24 season, which will surprise everyone and jump into the top three.

Lokomotiv believes in Dziuba

Lokomotiv has recently been in a protracted depression. The team won the Russian Cup in 2021 and has since disappeared somewhere. However, before the season 23/24, the railway workers have something to hope for.

Pinyaev and Dzyuba in attack are a promising duo. A bunch of experienced and overall striker with a young and quick-footed – a classic of football.

Loko played 5 pre-season matches (the selection of opponents raises questions), of which they won 3 (all against teams in the lower division), one drew against Irtysh and lost to Baltika. What can it say? In principle, about nothing, the team rolls into the season, tries what works and what doesn’t, new players join the team.

“Railroad” this summer has not yet made high-profile signings – Sarveli came from Sochi and Samoshnikov from Rubin. And probably not worth the wait. All hopes of the team are on the already existing backbone. Miranchuk, Tiknizyan, Dziuba, Pinyaev – that’s who will lead the team behind him – at least there is no one else to do it yet.