There is a defensive midfielder and a reliable centre-back, while the wingers need some variability.

According to the results of the summer transfer market, Spartak have good bench depth in almost every position. Admittedly, Martins is a so-so opornik, and Litvinov has been brought in at centre-back until the last minute – but the variability is only an advantage. Another thing is that with a large choice of Guillermo Abascal continues to experiment – and so far it goes sideways for the team. It got to the point that the red and white team that reached the cup derby looked fresher and more dangerous than the one in the matches with Zenit (1:3) and Akhmat (0:0). We collect in one text all the reflections on the choice of the initial clip for the Spanish language.

Litvinov is the best option in the defensive zone

In this part there is faith in Abaskal’s prudence. Yes, Ruslan continued to play in central defense until the match against Zenit. He is good in this position, but equally good as a defensive midfielder. However, this was a forced measure: Duarte is too attack-oriented and often makes mistakes in defense, Jikia is slow, and Chernov is unstable. Ruslan is the only one who would give reliability on a permanent basis.

So he did not go out in matches with St. Petersburg and Akhmat – here the statement is more about the choice of penalties for a mistake with the Urals than about personnel policy. Recently the Red and Whites signed Babić, and Srjan showed himself very well in his debut match. There is simply no need to leave Litvinov as a central defender – he is much more needed in support.

Nail Umyarov has a passing culture, but he quickly loses under pressure – over the years spent in the capital’s club, he never got rid of this flaw. On the way out, the “red and whites” obtain many blocked shots, defeats and attacks from the opponent with Chiodo.

Another option is Christopher Martins. As a box-to-box, the Luxembourger looks good, but not so well when you need to maintain zone or deliver an aimed pass. Hence the absence of a reference when Muscovites start to advance the ball.

The match with Krasnodar is just a chance to see how much better Spartak is with Litvinov as a defender than with Litvinov as a defender.

Prutsev is more responsive than Zobnin

The novel began to stagnate a long time ago: class outbreaks are still observed, but they occur less and less. Yes, against teams that don’t allow free spaces all the advantages of a midfielder evaporate. The depth of the bench is, first of all, the ability to painlessly replace an element of the puzzle that has ceased to give the desired result.

At the beginning of the season, the persistent question is why Daniil Prutsev does not appear on the field from the first minutes. This is a competitor to Roman both in terms of position and role. And Daniil sets a high pace, reliably pushes the ball forward, but Abaskal stubbornly releases Zobnin. So maybe the match with Dynamo is a reason to think about castling?

Promises can be issued right

On the flanks, Spartak also has enough variations. The leading duo was Promes-Bongonda. Both are fast setters with good ball handling. There is also Jesus Medina (right), Anton Zinkovsky (left). There are no questions for Quincy: even in his current form he is among the best. Here we are talking more than an additional decision for the starting lineup.

Zinkovsky is unstable, but he has played the same game with Dynamo at the top level – as long as he hasn’t been overtaken by a recession, this has to be used. If Abascal doesn’t want to leave Promes on the bench, he can be freed on the right. Usually they did the opposite: Anton went out to the right. The difference is that the Dutch full-back doesn’t need to adjust to this position – even before moving to Sevilla, he often played on the right side. And he gave exactly the same efficiency.

It is useful for Jikia to sit on a bench

George has the same problem as Zobnin. Either the stagnation is to blame, or some other reason – but now Georgy is at the start – a danger to his own team. He left because there was no alternative, then he is the leader of the dressing room and the captain of the team.

One possible reason for the stagnation of the center defense is the lack of a competitor. Now it has appeared. Srdjan Babic also lacks speed and can offer quite toughness in martial arts. A similar feature to Jikia. But on paper there are more arguments in favor of the Serbian: his legs are fresh after the team change and he has experience in Europe.

It’s too early to draw conclusions, but Srdjan’s performance against Dynamo leaves only positive impressions. There were no sawn blows, confident wrestling. And the crown is the purest contrast, which broke the attack of the “white-blue”. The picture was familiar to the “white-red”: because of the high line, the defenders did not have time to return. Only usually the opponent calmly crossed the middle and ran to the last third. And in this case, the Spartak newcomer quickly closed the distance and played the ball.

It’s time Abascal forgets about stubbornness

Playing “4-3-3” and going into a diamond against Zenit (pay with a defeat), refusing to transfer Litvinov to the support zone or not letting him out at all, leaving Zobnin and Jikia at the start when there are alternatives to them – all that equals the stubbornness of the Spanish coach. When it worked, the result was excellent. But this was only at the initial stage of Guillermo’s career at Spartak.

Now we have to look for alternatives. And so far, only the coach himself is stopping him from finding them. Nothing will happen to Georgy and Roman if they stay on the bench: it will be even more useful for motivation. Moreover, the decision will be right. Casting with a pattern isn’t helpful either. It’s time for a specialist to grow up, and the whole team will grow up with him.