The league leaders go into the game fresh from a 2-0 win over Khimki. Zenit had the ball in the net in the 7th minute when Sardar Azmoun tapped in a low cross on the byline from Vyacheslav Karavaev. Celebrations were cut short when the referee consulted with VAR to see the goal ruled out for a foul committed by Dejan Lovren in the build up. The home side took the lead in added time of the first half. Douglas Santos’ shot from a corner hit the woodwork and looped back into the crowded penalty area. Artem Dzyuba’s blocked first attempt fell into Karavaev’s path, allowing the defender a clear sight on goal to put Zenit ahead. Victory was clinched in the final seconds of the game. Wendel carried the ball into the opponent's half before threading a pass to Andrey Mostovoy. The ex-Khimki midfielder was through on goal and calmly slotted the ball between the onrushing goalkeeper's legs to make it 2-0.
PFC Sochi have been in mixed form since the turn of the year. Before the winters break the Leopards sat 4th in the league, 8 points behind the league leaders and recorded back-to-back victories against both Spartak and Dynamo Moscow. The side have since dropped from the European spots and sit in 7th place, with the gap between them and Zenit stretched to 11 points.
The side were knocked out of the Russian Cup earlier this week 3-1 by Lokomotiv Moscow however they have still shown their goalscoring prowess by recording a 5-0 win over relegation-threatened Tambov earlier this month. When the sides met earlier this season the reigning champions beat Sochi 3-1. Goals in the first half from Karavaev and Alexander Erokhin gave Zenit the lead before Kirill Zaika netted in the second half to give the away side some hope. Douglas Santos scored late into injury time to seal the win.
Vladimir Fedotov has turned heads in the league over the past few seasons for the way that he organises his team. The Sochi boss has the ability to get the best out of his players as, although the squad has one of the highest average age for its players, it has shown it can compete this season. One of the players who epitomises this is Christian Noboa, one of many former Zenit players in the Sochi squad. The experienced Ecuadorian has netted 8 times so far this season and leads the way for assists in the league with 6. Another former Zenit man is Artur Yusupov who's also in the midst of a purple patch under Fedotov. Since the midfielder joined from Dynamo Moscow he’s been a revelation for the Leopards, often being the outlet for attacking options and is having his best season yet in terms of goals, scoring his most recent in the cup defeat to Lokomotiv.
During his playing days, Fedotov operated as a defender or midfielder. The former Ural player has drawn upon his knowledge of the game to set his side out in a 3-4-3 formation. Blue-white-sky blue loanee Emanuel Mammana is able to orchestrate Sochi from the defence. Noboa sits in the centre of the pitch with Yusupov usually playing on the wings. Anton Zabolotny acts as the target man to piece together Fedotov’s side and provide an outlet for attacks. The former Zenit striker often provides the hold-up play with his physical presence, as well as an aerial threat.
Overall, one would expect Sunday’s game to be fast paced as these free scoring teams go against each other and goals are to be expected.
Sochi v Zenit is this Sunday and kicks-off at 4.30pm St. Petersburg time/2.30pm London. The game will be shown live on Match-TV in Russia and on the RPL YouTube channel around the world.
Thanks to Zenit-2's SMM Alfie Lumb for the preview, you can follow him on Twitter right here.
