Before the first matches less than two weeks.

No matches have been played since 13 November RPL, and the initial duel on March 3. The first cup matches are on Wednesday, but the regular tournament is more important and more difficult. Remember how we finished before the World Cup started, focusing on champions and trends.

The best implementation. Zenit, Dynamo and Spartak

It is often the relationship between goals and shots on goal that distinguishes true leaders. Zenit has a solid figure – 0.36. Slightly better than Dynamo — 0.34 and Spartak — 0.33. For comparison, a year ago Sochi led with a score of 0.32, while Dynamo was in the middle – 0.24. There is a big difference between one of four shots on target and one of three. Spartak were among the worst last season, averaging one goal after five accurate shots.

The most reliable protection. Zenit, Spartacus, CSKA

In the winter, Spartak improved their defense, but conceded only 18 goals in the fall, just like CSKA. And Zenit’s record is 7 errors in defense. True, now he plays without Lovren. As the sparring against the Iranians has shown, without stars at the center the adventures can begin. Especially if Renan doesn’t play. Current season RPL not on defense. For example, Dynamo and Rostov follow the leaders in terms of goals conceded, but have made many mistakes. Yes, and “Zenith” could lose at least ten goals.

King of selection. Akhmat, Lokomotiv and Dynamo

The two winners are not surprising. Dynamo often play aggressively. The pressure from the attack group helps, they won 200 duels. Akhmat’s leadership is also understandable – 217 combat victories. But Lokomotiv finished second (214 martial arts), because they had to work hard without the ball. This is a hint for Galaktionov to better set up work so that he has to fight for the ball less often, like Spartak and Zenit. It’s true, the percentage of ball possession counts here.

Control adepts. Zenit, Krasnodar and Spartak

63% of ball possession explains that the Brazilians of Zenit have a class advantage. It’s hard for them to pick up the ball for a long time. In second place is Krasnodar. But mere statistics don’t count out of context. Storozhuk tried to work as a leader like Spartak, but style will not replace functional training. But “Sochi” and “Rostov”, who also played the first number, on the contrary, defended themselves from some troubles, although they were the first to invite a new coach, Berdyev. Let’s see how the southerners play in the spring. But we know for sure that Lokomotiv wants to attack more often and CSKA. These Moscow clubs have a worse ownership percentage than in Khimki and Ural.

Mazila. Torpedo, Wings of the Soviets, Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv last year came out for the effectiveness of aimed shooting. And now I’m at the bottom with an indicator of 0.19. It’s funny that Galaktionov invited Pinyaev and Glushenkov to the team of the team, which itself suffered from mistakes. “Wings of the Soviets” in terms of shots on goal allowed in the top three, followed by “Zenith” and CSKA. But the opponent’s goal had a large number of well-aimed shots – 96 against 84 for the same “army men”, who were leveled by a terrible achievement. And worst of all, “Torpedo” did not play at the level RPL. He inflicted 45 shots on goal against someone else’s goal (Orenburg, for comparison, 116), and made one out of ten. Five own goals, two own goals: a modest result.

Combination lovers. Zenit, Orenburg and Spartak

I would like to praise Orenburg. It turned out to recruit talented legionnaires, they say, not without the prompting of the St. Petersburg scouts. As a result, he is one of the leaders in shots on goal. And although the class of performers is not as high as that of Spartak and Zenit, Lichka’s team stands out from the rest. Even if we take the key passes – passes, after which the partners hit, then the modest middle peasant is in second place after Zenit, where combinational football is the basis of success. Especially in a season in which Cassierra, the striker seen as the star, has not scored a single goal. But others showed up, Semak’s team distributes an average of 15.4 last passes per game. Orenburg is next with 13.9 and Spartak are in third place with a rating of 12.8.

Worst quality probability. Torpedo, Pari NN and Khimki

Let’s see how the Nizhny Novgorod team will play without Galaktionov, but in the autumn part of the season xG was penultimate. In creation, they depended on Kalinsky and lost a number of matches. Suleimanov helped, but he lacks experience for stable work. About the “Torpedo” has already been said above. All winter they were looking for a striker, they even came for Dziuba. Eventually Artyom was taken by Lokomotiv. But Khimki was falling apart, so we doubt they will improve their performance much. By the way, 9 out of 16 teams scored more goals than you would expect based on xG. And if you look for surprises at the bottom of the table, note the low position of Akhmat. The sixth club in the overall standings did not create as many quality chances as Zenit, Spartak and CSKA.

Leader in expected points. “Zenith”, CSKA and Spartak

There will never be statistics predicting football. This would simply kill interest in the game. At the same time, only the stupidest in professional sports have not yet figured out that indicators affect distances. Ancelotti, Klopp, Guardiola and many other eminent coaches agree with this. The system for calculating expected points will be improved. But already now it helps to understand where the lucky clubs are and who is in their place. Zenit is the first case. Spartak deservedly in the group of leaders. It’s here CSKA stupidly lost points. First of all, in draw matches. It is also significant that Rostov was lucky in the fall. Cheeky play helped settle the points. Moreover, the difference is huge: 10 points between the expected and the real points. But the main losers in this regard are Wings of the Soviet and Lokomotiv.

In two weeks we will find out if there will be the spring part of the season RPL logical continuation of the starting one, that is, half of the teams will start playing in a completely different way, confusing all the cards for fans of football predictions.