The Russian Premier League is going on a long winter break, but in the end the teams will try to please the fans, if not with a great game, then at least with results. Football expert Alexander Bubnov and his counterpart, author of Sportbox.ru Marat Ramazanov, will try to predict these results.

“Lokomotiv” – “Ural”

Alexander Bubnov – 1:0. Lokomotiv’s lineup and play have stabilized, the team has picked up speed and is already aiming for a place among the winners. In the previous round we looked confident in the game against Zenit even without Barinov. Everything is fine with their motivation, and it’s trite that the railway workers’ attack group is more powerful than their opponent’s. “Ural” will resist, of course, the team looks good in the last rounds, but it will not be easy for the guests to grab points.

Marat Ramazanov – 2:1. It is not difficult to identify the favorite in this pair; Lokomotiv clearly looks preferable on their home field. But I’m still confident that Ural will be able to fight in the final game before the pause. In five previous matches in the Premier League, the Bumblebees were not inferior to their opponents, scoring in four cases. This time the guests from Yekaterinburg are capable of scoring at least one goal.

“Spartak” – “Wings of the Soviets”

A. B. – 2:1. “Spartak” needs to rehabilitate itself after the defeat in Grozny, and there is a debt to the opponent for the result of the first round. Naturally, everything will be fine with the Muscovites’ attitude – they are playing on their own field, intending to climb higher before the pause, and even the situation with Abascal should finish off their motivation. “Wings” are not inferior in terms of play, they are able to score, but I would still prefer “Spartak” in this pair.

M.R. – 2:2. Judging by the quotes, victory for Spartak is the most likely option. But still, when it comes to the “red-whites”, logic can fade into the background; the team surprises too often. And the fact that Abaskal’s team lost in the last two official matches and lost three times in a row to Krylia Sovetov does not add confidence in the hosts’ victory. Volzhans are quite capable of competing for points here. The top scoring team in the tournament should also have everything in order when it comes to goals.

“Akhmat” – “Rostov”

A. B. – 2:1. After the victory over Spartak, Akhmat is on a positive wave. The Grozny squad has stabilized, especially in defense. But Rostov has not been stable lately. If the game took place in Rostov, I could give preference to the “yellow-blues”, but in Grozny I will bet on “Akhmat”.

M.R. – 1:1. Both teams are not having the best season, the chances of winning a single game are close. Perhaps, it will be easier for Akhmat to achieve success on their home field, but it is still difficult to dismiss the results of personal meetings, according to which the Rostovites won the last four matches. The outcome can be absolutely anything, so I will cautiously assume a draw.

“Zenit” – “PARI NN”

A.B. – 2:0. Surely Zenit looked into the reasons for the defeat to Lokomotiv. And in this game you can hardly expect any problems with underestimation. Semak’s team cannot lose points; they already have enough losses. At home, the team will play to win without question. I believe that the coaching staff will ensure that even the foreign players do not have a suitcase mood in this match.

M.R. – 2:0. Miracles often happen in football, but for some reason I can’t believe that the Nizhny Novgorod team will be able to surprise their opponents in St. Petersburg. The team does not score very many goals, there is no confidence that this time they will be able to upset the opponent at least once. Zenit will try to do everything possible to go into the break at least in second position.

“Fakel” – “Dynamo”

A.B. – 0:1. “Dynamo” is on a good streak: it hasn’t lost in eight rounds in the championship. The leaders have returned to the lineup; Konstantin Tyukavin has had a brilliant period. It will be a difficult game against Fakel; the factor of weather conditions and not the best field should not be discounted. But I still believe that the Lichki team will have a minimal victory.

M.R. – 0:2. Dynamo is in better shape – in the previous five rounds there were four wins and one draw, while the opponent has not won in three championship matches in a row. And things are better with motivation – “Fakel” doesn’t need to gnaw out points right here and now at any cost, but “blue and white” definitely shouldn’t lose points in the context of the fight for medals.

“Sochi” – “Orenburg”

A.B. – 0:1. “Sochi” is a clear outsider in the RPL; its game is simply the worst. And the worst thing is that the team looks helpless – the players are panicking, they could really fly out. “Orenburg” is much more competitive in this regard: they looked good against the background of the season leader “Krasnodar”, there is a game, and there should be a normal atmosphere in the team. Sochi residents will fight, but when there is no resource, it is not easy to do so.

M.R. – 1:0. The numbers don’t say anything good for Sochi; Leopard fans should not even look at the statistics of head-to-head confrontations with Orenburg. But still, if a team wants to cling to the RPL, then when to do it, if not in a home match with one of its direct competitors? This season, on their home field, the southerners have already beaten Baltika, Rostov, and not so long ago Fakel in the Cup. Why not try to do something similar in the game with the Urals?

“Krasnodar” – “CSKA”

A. B. – 1:1. If Krasnodar had no losses, I would give them preference, especially on their own field. But it won’t be easy to play without Cordoba’s main scorer. In addition, in defense we will have to do without Olasa and, probably, without Petrov. Harutyunyan is still not a flank defender, and in general it’s still difficult to call him a starting player. CSKA has a stable squad; there are no losses, except for long-injured players. The game will be tough, both teams will fight for victory, but I think the army team is capable of not losing.

M.R. – 2:1. “Krasnodar” has lost some ground lately, but still would not overestimate the capabilities of CSKA. Beating Rostov on a snowy field is great, but on the road, Fedotov’s team this season, to put it mildly, does not shine. The last away victory in the RPL was achieved on July 30 in the second round! The army team is certainly capable of scoring, but there are some doubts about the victory and even the points scored.

“Baltika” – “Rubin”

A.B. – 0:0. The teams know each other well, both promoted to the RPL this season. Both opponents play with an emphasis on defense and use similar tactical schemes. When Rubin or Baltika play someone, you can expect a tough match, but here two such teams meet each other. The forces are approximately equal, I don’t expect to see a clear favorite here, and goals are not guaranteed.

M.R. – 0:0. Rubin’s results have been better lately, but Baltika should have more motivation. If the Kazan team feels relatively calm in the table, then the opponent has to fight for every point to escape from the relegation zone. It is striking that both teams score little: the Kaliningraders are no different in five rounds in a row, the guests rarely hit the goal more than once. Taking into account the factor of the last round before the holidays and, perhaps, not the best conditions for sparkling football, I fully admit that the game will end with zeros on the scoreboard.

Scoring rules:

Correct score – 4 points

Exact goal difference – 3 points

Exact outcome – 2 points

Round score: 10 – 7

Points score: 171:150

1st round. Bubnov – Tomashevsky – 9:9

2nd round. Bubnov – Pochezhirtsev – 13:14

3rd round. Bubnov – Ramazanov – 7:9

4th round. Bubnov – Podgornov – 17:12

5th round. Bubnov – Petrov – 10:6

6th round. Bubnov – Zheleznov – 9:7

7th round. Bubnov – Panov – 11:8

8th round. Bubnov – Kurtanidze – 8:7

9th round. Bubnov – Adamov – 9:9

10th round. Bubnov – Belov – 13:6

11th round. Bubnov – Galtsov – 4:9

12th round. Bubnov – Tail – 7:9

13th round. Bubnov – Nikitina – 8:5

14th round. Bubnov – Turov – 9:13

15th round. Bubnov – Khorenkov – 12:12

16th round. Bubnov – Shuvaev – 14:4

17th round. Bubnov – Pochezhirtsev – 11:11

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