Krylia (home)
- Krylia are battling relegation in the bottom half of the Russian Premier League, where they have 17 points from 19 games.
- Adiyev has focused on getting his team to play compact, transition-focused soccer since taking charge in June 2025, but it’s not always worked.
Lokomotiv (away)
- The Red-Greens are fourth in the table and have 24 from 19 league games and have a realistic chance of silverware in the Cup, and sit seven points clear of Krylia.
- Lokomotiv have a balance of attack and defence and have been consistent near the top of the table, while also progressing in the cup, where they beat Arsenal Tula 2-1 away from home.
Head-to-Head
Lokomotiv have generally edged the rivalry, including a 3-1 victory in the 2021 Russian Cup final .
Lokomotiv
- Lokomotiv’s attacking strength is their greatest asset, with talisman Aleksey Batrakov (double-digit league goals) on set pieces and plenty of quality in the frontline.
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Rakov is a good outlet when fit, but he has been struggling with a foot problem, so Chinedu and Oleynikov have filled in lately.
- Aleksey Batrakov
- Komlichenko
- Vorobyov
- Rakov (foot issue)
- Chinedu
- Oleynikov
Krylia
Krylia are a well-drilled outfit with strong athletes and they can compete in a tense semi-final first leg.
Betting Insights
- Backing Lokomotiv at 1.96 looks the best bet in this game with Krylia, who are 4.18 to win, too short given their struggles and the fact that Lokomotiv have dominated recent head-to-heads.
- The draw is a huge 3.7, which seems a bit rich too considering the home team’s lack of value in the 90-minute betting.
- Both teams to score is favoured at 1.72, but no is available at 2.03, which could come in if Lokomotiv get on top of the game and keep things tight.
Prediction
- Cold and cloudy conditions in Samara should keep the ball on the ground for much of the match.
- The likely result is a 1-1 draw, but Lokomotiv are just too good to play this for too long so an away win is also within their range of outcomes.
