Zenit is the favourite. They are stronger both in terms of play and composition, they confidently won the last Russian championship, plus they have strengthened well lately. In addition, Zenit carried out targeted preparations for the start of the RPL and the match for the Super Cup, having managed to play in the PARI Premier Cup and have a good control match with Red Star. Compared to the main line-up of last season’s sample, only Karavaev is missing, who is recovering from an injury, the rest are all in line and ready to play.

Spartak played fewer friendly matches with strong opponents, plus they were preparing without several important players who had just arrived. It’s good that Martins, Moses and Nicholson returned, but all the preparations took place without them, they did not have time to find out the requirements of the new head coach. Spartak, unlike Zenit, lost important players – Bakaev and Zhigo. They already had problems in defense, and now, in my opinion, they will only intensify, because the Red-Whites have not yet been able to acquire great defenders. Zenith’s middle line is also clearly stronger. In the attacking group, Spartak has good players, but they lack teamwork for a stable game.

Just this game with Zenit will allow us to assess the state of Spartak now. In terms of composition, they should be higher than the place they took last season. But how much higher is hard to judge. Much will depend on how the new young coach will build the game. This is a kind of experiment in Spartak, which raises many questions.

Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

In such a short-lived tournament from one match, surprises are possible, but Zenit is now objectively stronger than Spartak, and is also better prepared for the Super Bowl. When you are inferior to an opponent in a class, then this can be compensated for by your attitude, dedication, moral and volitional qualities and good functional training. But I don’t think that Zenit, especially at its stadium, will give way to Spartak in the mood. Another opportunity for Spartak is active pressure, but I don’t think they are able to seriously put pressure on Zenit to tie them down and not give them the opportunity to control the game.

Most likely, Spartak will try to play number two and look for chances in the counterattack, blocking all zones in their half of the field, preventing Zenit from developing attacks. But how well they will succeed, taking into account the identified problems and how much they will be enough, only the game will show.