Former Zenit coach Anatoly Byshovets reflected on the championship race in the WORLD RPL and assessed Krasnodar’s chances in the fight against the blue-white-blues.

Krasnodar entered the winter break in the championship as a leader with 38 points after 18 rounds. Zenit is two points behind and is in second place. Dynamo (32) closes the top three.

— Despite the fact that Krasnodar is now in first place, Zenit remains the main favorite?

– According to today’s objective criteria – Krasnodar, as well as in terms of the quality of the game. Perhaps it was only at the end that we saw that the team was playing on the field amid fatigue. The quality of the game, and the numbers of goals scored and conceded, speak volumes. “Krasnodar” does not change the concept of the club’s development. The club’s players and students are becoming much more experienced and sophisticated. There are small problems – we need to duplicate the central striker Cordoba, playing in the center of defense, but there is time for this.

As for Zenit, we can talk about the sum of individual skills. Experience and the possibility of rotation come into play here to maintain team mobility and optimal physical condition. However, the motivation for Krasnodar players is quite high and, if individual positions are strengthened, the Bulls will be close to pleasing their fans.

— Krasnodar has a rather short bench. Will this fact play a cruel joke on them? The Zenit bench seems wider and more functional.

— When they play against a background of fatigue, this is already a problem for the technique. The structure of both muscles and tone is disrupted. It seems to me that Zenit’s defeats were precisely the reason for this, and Dynamo in St. Petersburg wins in the last minutes. Lokomotiv won in the second half. The issue of maintaining stability for Zenit is a problem for Semak. Another problem – I speak about this from my own experience working in Portugal – is everything related to special training. It took into account the individual capabilities of the players, but it all needed to be done with the ball.

— Does Krasnodar look like a slightly bigger favorite?

— In terms of the place it occupies, yes, and the numbers speak about it. The very fact that Krasnodar is in first place already indicates that the team has such an opportunity. Despite the small difference in points scored,” Metaratings.ru quotes Byshovets as saying.

Live broadcasts of MIR RPL matches can be watched on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.