The start of the season in Russia is near.

The winner of the 2023 Russian Super Cup will be determined today. On the one hand – “Zenith”, the champion of the country, on the other – CSKA, winner of the cup. We are preparing for the first match of the new season in Russia and look at the statistics.

The home team wins more often

Even if they are purely nominal. Such statistics have been especially striking in the last 3 years, when the “blue-white-blue” hegemony was designated. St. Petersburg under the leadership of Sergei Semak is fighting for the Russian Super Cup for the sixth consecutive season.

After the first championship title in 4 years, Sergei Semak’s wards met with Lokomotiv – and then Zenit had not yet become such a formidable force in Russian football. The trophy was taken by the “railway workers” for experience. But in the future, the team from the banks of the Neva twice beat the “red-greens” in the Super Cup, and last summer they also defeated Spartak. In each of these matches, the Petersburgers were considered the hosts.

Before that, Spartak won the trophy in a similar state, three times: CSKA, the same number of times – Zenit, twice – Lokomotiv and once – Rubin. In total, 13 out of 20 Super Bowl games have been won by nominal hosts. Perhaps the home walls helped someone: the first 8 draws for the title were held in Moscow, in 6 of them the victory went to the capital’s team.

This time, Zenit e CSKAand the fight will really take place on a neutral site – in Kazan at the Ak Bars Arena.

Comparison of winners

The upcoming clash is also notable for the fact that the clubs that have most often won the Super Bowl will play each other. period of hegemony CSKA fell in the 00s – early 10s. Then the “army team” lost matches for this trophy very rarely – they participated in four of the first five draws, after a break in 2008 they returned – and first they collided twice with Rubin, and then played with Zenit. 2012 was a transition, followed by two consecutive meetings for the Super Bowl (again with Zenit in 2013, a year later they agreed with Rostov). In total, during these 12 Super Bowl games, the Red-Blues won the trophy 6 times and participated in 9 ties.

The Army Men won their seventh Super Cup in 2018, beating Lokomotiv, and at that moment the team led by a margin in the number of trophies. Later, Zenit was added to Muscovites – this happened due to a breakthrough in the early 1920s.

Initially, non-Moscow clubs rarely competed for the Super Cup, in the first five meetings – only Akhmat. St. Petersburg made it to the Super Cup, becoming champions in the 2007 season and took the title at their first attempt, beating Lokomotiv. Three more trophies came between 2008 and 2015. And it has been in recent years that the “blue-white-blue” have been most successful. We beat Lokomotiv twice, then Spartak, all this in the previous 3 seasons.

At the moment, both Zenit and CSKA 7 victories in the Russian Super Cup each, so in today’s match, albeit for a while, the only leader will be determined.

The teams have competed for the trophy three times.

It adds interest to the confrontation and the fact that this is not the first meeting of the teams in the fight for the Super Bowl. Previously, they crossed paths with each other three times, even in those moments when CSKA became the champion of Russia.

For the first time the “soldiers” and the “blue-white-blue” played the trophy in 2011, then Zenit became the champion RPL and won the national cup, so the rivals were the “red-blue”, which earned silver. The victory remained in St. Petersburg, but after 2 years Muscovites took revenge, defeating the team from the banks of the Neva – 3:0. In 2016, Zenit turned out to be stronger again.

An additional motivation for “CSKA” may be not only revenge for Mario Fernandez or the desire to overtake St. Petersburg in terms of the number of victories in the Super Bowl, but also the desire to equalize victories in direct matches.

Clash of the main competitors

At the competition of “Zenith” and CSKA special attention will be paid to the next season. In the last championship, it was the army team that turned out to be the most worthy opponent of the national champion. Vladimir Fedotov has built an integral structure in the capital team and even with the existing problems he has found effective solutions in the center of defence, in the forward group, in the center of the field and on the left wing. In the spring, the rossoblù seemed much more organized and reliable than the other teams in the top 5. This has already allowed CSKA reach 2nd place, starting the spring leg of the Premier League in 5th place.

And now CSKA it is necessary to consolidate the success if the club is to fight for medals and, in the future, for the title. The Super Bowl will serve as a starting point in this regard. In the next match, the first impression will form: is it in the power of Fedotov’s team or is it too early. Just as with Spartak following the departure of Fedun and the arrival of Guillermo Abascal as head coach last year, only then did the presentation prove misleading.

Both need a positive push

Unexpectedly, but both have problems this summer. CSKA he still can’t carry the newcomers – and they are needed because of the short bench. There is no substitute for Gajic on the right wing, only Moises on the left, but the Brazilian is likely to remain in central defence. We need a replacement for the deceased Medina – an effective replacement for Fedor Chalov. In the summer of 2022, the “soldiers” were only able to sign a group of players in August – and now history may repeat itself. But until then, Muscovites need the Super Cup so as not to further aggravate the situation.

Zenit has a similar motivation: the Blue-White-Blues must prove that they are still the strongest in the country. After the departure of Daler Kuzyaev and the recent rumors, doubts have crept in. By the end of the transfer window, St. Petersburg could lose a few more leaders. Thus, Flamengo is showing substantial interest in Claudinho, Wendel is not eager to stay in Russia – and is only now returning to Zenit headquarters. Even individual clubs are circling around Malcolm – the winger said he was ready for a new test in Europe, in the winter he tried to pick him up PSG, closer to the summer, Juventus insiders appeared, and clubs from Saudi Arabia recently expressed their interest. You cannot let everyone go right away, and you cannot prove that this is a reason to doubt the ambitions of St. Petersburg residents.