Home: Baltika Kaliningrad
- Baltika Kaliningrad and CSKA are level on 36 points after 20 matches of the 2025-26 season.
- Baltika have been in strong form with multiple clean sheets in their last five league games.
- They drew at Rostov last week with Brayan Gil scoring.
- They produced the upset in 2024 and knocked CSKA out of the Russian Cup in September 2025 on penalties.
Away: CSKA Moscow
- CSKA Moscow have been dominant in the fixture historically but have been inconsistent this season.
- They have wins over Spartak and Krylya Sovetov and draws with Krasnodar and Orenburg.
- They suffered heavy defeats, including a 1-4 home loss to Dynamo Moscow and a 1-0 loss at Akhmat.
- Andrey Talalayev’s side are built around a 3-4-2-1 that keeps the defence compact and uses full-backs and wide midfielders in transition.
- Fabio Celestini’s attacking approach has brought goals but also defensive errors.
- Ivan Oblyakov leads the team in assists and controls the tempo.
- The side can play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 depending on match-up.
Head-to-Head
- CSKA were historically dominant, but Baltika beat them 3-1 in 2024.
- Baltika also knocked CSKA out of the Russian Cup in September 2025, winning on penalties after Kirill Stepanov scored.
- That recent cup success gives Baltika a psychological edge heading into this clash.
Key Players
- Baltika Kaliningrad
- Brayan Gil - main attacking threat, scored in the draw at Rostov.
- Mingiyan Beveev - midfield transition.
- Kevin Andrade - midfield transition.
- Kirill Stepanov - scored in the cup win and showed composure in the shootout.
- CSKA Moscow
- Ivan Oblyakov - orchestrator, leads the team in assists.
- Kirill Glebov - cutting edge in the final third.
- Matvey Kislyak - ability to score goals.
Betting Insights
- Odds: Baltika 2.83, CSKA 2.86, Draw 3.19.
- Under 2.5 goals at 1.62 is appealing given the likely cagey nature of the match.
- Both teams to score is around 1.98, but BTTS looks risky because of Baltika’s compact system.
Prediction
- Expect a cagey, tense game where one mistake or moment of quality could decide the outcome.
- Slight edge to Baltika because of home form and the autumn cup win over CSKA.
- A low-scoring result (under 2.5) looks the likeliest outcome.
