Zenit St Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow prediction, preview, team news and more | Russian Premier League 2023-24
Zenit St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow will battle for glory in the second leg of the Russian Cup final on Wednesday (May 15th). The tie is firmly in the balance, with the first leg having ended in a 1-1 draw a fortnight ago.
Nuraly Alip's own goal gave CSKA the lead in the 53rd minute while Aleksandr Yerokhin drew the game level for Zenit with just six minutes left on the clock.
Wednesday's clash is coming just four days after both sides faced one another in the Russian Premier League at the same venue. Fedor Chalov's 58th-minute penalty helped CSKA Moscow leave the Gazprom Arena with all three points in that game.
Both sides will now turn their focus to the second leg of the Cup final. Zenit booked their spot at this stage with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Spartak Moscow in the semifinal. CSKA Moscow qualified with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Baltika.
Zenit St Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow Head-to-Head
CSKA Moscow have 70 wins from the last 163 head-to-head games. Zenit were victorious on 45 occasions while 48 games ended in a draw.
Zenit St Petersburg form guide (all competitions): L-D-D-L-L
CSKA Moscow form guide (all competitions): W-D-D-L-D
Zenit St Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow Team News
Zenit St Petersburg
Mário Fernandes and Danil Krugovoy are injured for the game. There are no suspension worries for the hosts.
Injuries: Mario Fernandez, Danil Krugovoy
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
CSKA Moscow
Maksim Mukhin is the only injury concern for the visitors. There are no suspension concerns for Vladimir Fedotov.
Injury: Maksim Mukhin
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Zenit St Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow Predicted XI
Zenit St Petersburg Predicted XI (3-4-3): Denis Afamov (GK); Nuraly Alip, Rodrigo, Wilmar Barrios; Artur, Dmitrii Vasiljev, Wendel, Gustavo Mantuan; Pedro Henrique, Ivan Sergeev, Ilzat Akhmetov
CSKA Moscow Predicted XI (3-4-3): Vladislav Torop (GK); Moises, Willyan Rocha, Igor Diveev; Ilya Agapov, Victor Mendez, Sasa Zdjelar, Milan Gajic; Fedor Chalov, Anton Zabolotnyi, Ivan Oblyakov
Zenit St Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow Prediction
Zenit have seen their hopes of defendng their league title take a major hit in recent weeks, with their four-game winless run seeing them drop to second spot. Their last seven games across competitions have produced less than three goals.
CSKA Moscow are defending champions of the Russian Cup and their poor form in the league means this is their only shot at winning a trophy this season.
The capital side will be buoyed by their victory at this same ground over the weekend. Furthermore, their hosts are in poor form and we are backing the visitors to claim a narrow win and clean sheet.
Prediction: Zenit St Petersburg 0-1 CSKA Moscow