Ex-defender of Krasnodar Vitaly Kaleshin believes that CSKA will have an advantage over Krasnodar if there is a penalty shoot-out in the FONBET Russian Cup Superfinal.

– Krasnodar fights for trophies every year, but it doesn’t always work out. It is impossible to play in the finals every year. The team has changed a lot in recent years. The good legionnaires are gone. I do not see a full-fledged replacement for Granquist, Kabore, Shirokov, Mamaev. Yes, there are young guys in the person of Spertsyan, Chernikov, but they are not yet at the same level as those listed above. Stronger guys played in key positions then.

In this final, if it comes to a penalty shootout, I think CSKA has the advantage. They have Akinfeev, the best goalkeeper in the country for decades. Igor proved this at the home world championship. The penalty shootout is a lottery, but Krasnodar has no advantage, at least because there is Akinfeev. On the line, his stats say it all. In their duel with Safonov, I will give preference to Igor. Although Matvey is also great at hitting penalties.

Who will play in the final, I don’t know. It’s up to the coaches. I think it’s stupid not to put the team captain on such an important game because of some mistake. In this case, perhaps, you can get a backlash from him. It has to cope with such errors,” Kaleshin told Metaratings.ru.

The Russian Cup Superfinal will be held on Sunday, June 11, at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, starting at 17:00 (Moscow time). The last time CSKA won the Cup of Russia in 2013, the army team won seven trophies in total. Krasnodar lost to Rostov in its only final in 2014.

Watch the live broadcast of the FONBET Russian Cup Superfinal between Krasnodar and CSKA on June 11 from 16:00 (Moscow time) on the Match TV channel. You can also follow the progress of the meeting on the MATCH PREMIER channel, matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.