Zenit (home)
- With 4 wins and a draw from their last 5 games, Zenit St Petersburg enter this encounter as clear favorites and look to justify their 1.37 favoritism on Wednesday night.
- They are on a 3-game winning streak, having drawn 1-1 with Spartak Moscow before winning 4-2 on penalties in the Super Cup, then beating Akron Tolyatti 5-0 and Gazovik Orenburg 3-0 in the Premier League.
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Recent form:
- Zenit have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5, winning their last 3 in a row.
- Zenit have won 8 and drawn 2 of their last 10, losing none.
Baltika (away)
- Baltika will have to put in a very good performance to get anything out of this one, let alone a win.
- They're in indifferent form, posting just 2 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses from their last 10 across all competitions.
- Thus their away record of 3 draws and 2 defeats in this context makes for miserable reading for the visitors.
- Baltika boss Talalaev likes to set his side up in compact blocks and engage in aggressive duels, looking to transition swiftly on the counter.
Head-to-Head
Baltika are 4.75 outsiders here and that looks a touch generous considering they lost to Zenit in the 2024 Russian Cup final, which is their only previous meeting with the hosts.
Betting Insights
While BTTS-No at 1.51 makes some appeal in this encounter, considering Zenit are clearly the more potent side, we're taking Under 2.5 at 1.81 to play the percentage.
Prediction
We're going for a home side win , but it's unlikely to be a crazy shootout.
