When Zenit kick-off the Russian Football Premier League against Lokomotiv Moscow Saturday afternoon, revenge is on the menu as it was Zenit’s 0-0 at home against Lokomotiv in the second-to-last round last season, which effectively crushed the dream of Champions League football for the Blue-White-Sky Blues.
However, while Zenit have hired both a new head coach as well as a long line of exciting new players, Lokomotiv have been pretty much paralyzed this summer with no new additions to the squad being found with the exception of a couple of youngsters being promoted to the first team. Instead, the Railroaders have been forced to say goodbye to the Slovak central defender Jan Durica, a loyal servant since 2009, as well as Rifat Zhemaletdinov, one of the most exciting young Russian players.
Part of the reason for Lokomotiv’s passiveness this summer is to be found in the doubt that remains around the leadership of the club, where club president Olga Smorodskaya and sports director Kirill Kotov could leave the club by the middle of August according to most media reports. Last season Lokomotiv succumbed to a 6th place, which was far from acceptable for both the ambitious fans and club owners Russian Railways, which explains why they are considering a personnel change in the top of the administration.
When that is said, Lokomotiv remain a fierce competitor, and should be around the top of the league once the season is over. So far, the Railroaders have managed to keep Vedran Corluka, captain and the biggest star in the squad, at the club, and with him in the central defence, the Red-Green players will do everything in their power to get a good result. During the Euros, Corluka, once again, proved how much of a fighter he is and TV-viewers more often than not saw him with a bandage around his head after tough battles against his opponents.
Elsewhere in the defensive unit we find experienced players such as recently appointed Russian international, and third-string goalkeeper at the Euros, Guilherme, and left-back Vitaly Denisov, who was one of the best, if not the best, in his position last season.
Further up the field, Lokomotiv have managed to exchange holding midfielder Delvin N’Dinga’s loan to a permanent deal, and with players such as Manuel Fernandes, Aleksey Miranchuk and Dmitry Tarasov, the Railwaymen have some amazing options in central midfield, both defensively and offensively, and this is where Lokomotiv’s biggest strengths are.
Although Russian international Aleksandr Samedov played some of the best football of his career last season, the wings remains questionable at best with Brazilian Maicon suffering from a long-term injury, and Alan Kasaev and Vladislav Ignatiev being chronically unstable despite their vast playing experience.
Lastly, it is no secret that Lokomotiv fans have been crying for Kotov to add a striker to the squad this summer, and looking at head coach Igor Cherevchenko’s options one understands why. The Serb Petar Skuletic scored six goals last season, while Ezekiel Henty is yet to find the back of the net. It was no coincidence that the results started to fail after the Red-Greens sold top scorer Baye Oumar Niasse for a significant fee, because his replacements haven’t shown the level needed to compete in the top of the RFPL.
The season hasn’t even started, and Lokomotiv are already falling behind their rivals, and the Red-Greens could be in for a tough season.
Be sure to check out RFN's website including their predictions for who'll finish where for the upcoming season.
