Tikhonov called “Spartak” rival “Zenith” in the fight for the championship in the RPL

Former Spartak player Andrei Tikhonov believes that the Moscow club can compete with Zenit in the fight for the championship this RPL season.

“Zenith” is in the lead in the championship. After 17 rounds the club has 42 points. The Red-Whites are next (36 points).

Is a championship race possible? Of course. Six points is not twelve, and not even nine. We remember the season when Zenit was in the lead by a wide margin, and then it was reduced. “Zenith” is very strong, but “Spartak” shows a good and confident game. There are several months to stabilize and even improve it.

I don’t know if there will be any strengthening of the squad. Now “Spartak” shows a decent level. Everything will be decided in the spring. If Spartak loses points in simple matches, of course, it will be harder. But at the moment Spartak is a competitor of Zenit.

Spartak have injured Victor Moses and Martins Pereira. This is already a boost for Spartak when they return. Spartak has a good squad, but lacks a quality central defender. If Spartak works in this direction, it will be good.

– Can Spartak overtake Zenit if the Brazilians leave the St. Petersburg club?

– Let’s take the games where Claudinho was absent from Zenit. Already in those matches the team faced problems. Even in yesterday’s match against Fakel, when Malcolm and Wendel were on the bench. And as soon as they came out, Zenit immediately achieved the result. There is a certain dependence on their leaders. This applies to both Zenith and Spartak, ”Tikhonov quotes “Sport day after day”.