Spartak Kostroma
- Spartak Kostroma are in better form than Arsenal Tula with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats from their last 5 games, which includes 2 consecutive victories prior to last time out.
- Evgeniy Taranukhin’s side occupy fifth in FNL 2025/2026 with 47 points from 30 games and are comfortably in the running for promotion.
- The manager has instilled a disciplined, counter-attacking philosophy since taking charge in January 2025, with his players lining up in a compact 4-2-3-1 and preferring to play through the wings in a controlled, yet unpredictable way.
- They can be very hard to beat when they keep their structure in their half of the field and hit the opposition when they play the ball loose in the wide areas.
Arsenal Tula
- Dmitri Gunko has taken Arsenal Tula to a comfortable mid-table 12th in the 2025/2026 edition of the FNL (36 points from 29 matches), although their form has dipped with just one win in the last five.
- Arsenal Tula set up in either a 4-1-4-1 or a narrow 4-2-3-1 and will look to dominate possession and create chances by playing with width and structure.
- The visitors are winless in three on the road, picking up one draw and two defeats, and will have to be patient in Kostroma.
Head-to-Head
Spartak have the better form, home advantage and a head-to-head win seven months ago to rely on, so they can squeeze through in a low-scoring game.
Key Players
- Arsenal’s Igor Gorbunov has two of his team’s last five goals, while Daniil Penchikov remains the team’s top scorer with five in 24 FNL 2025/2026 matches.
- Spartak’s leading goal-scorer Amur Kalmykov is their top marksman in FNL 2025/2026 with 14 in 29 and he has two of the team’s last six goals.
Betting Insights
- A bet on Under 2.5 goals at 1.58 looks the right way to go here as Spartak are not a free-scoring side and Arsenal’s overall goal returns on the road are modest.
- Back the home side for a 1-0 win on the double chance odds with Arsenal 3.71, Spartak 2.29 and draw 2.94.
Prediction
- Spartak Kostroma are likely to get the better of a tight match with Arsenal Tula in Kostroma on Saturday when possession-minded Arsenal Tula and counter-attacking Spartak try to find the gaps in each other’s compact defensive set-ups.
- Expect a low-scoring affair with Spartak edging it, 1-0.
