Krasnodar – Rostov

Krasnodar will not have the energy to take on Rostov after the Russian Cup

On Wednesday, 17 May, Krasnodar take on Rostov at home in a Southern derby. The Bulls have no serious task left in the Russian championship. The team is now only preparing for the Russian Cup final. Rostov, on the other hand, stand a good chance of winning medals. Valeriy Karpin's charges really need a win to remain in the bottom three with two rounds to go. Krasnodar have already shown their priorities earlier. Several key players did not fly to St Petersburg for the game with Zenit. Meanwhile, all the strongest players have already played against Ural in the Russian Cup. Vladimir Ivic's charges got a tough win, leaving a lot of energy behind. There will be little time to recover. It is possible that the coaching staff will not overburden their leaders. If there is the slightest suspicion, the reserves will be used. Fortunately, they performed very well in St Petersburg. Krasnodar almost spoiled the celebratory game for Zenit. "The Bulls were short a few minutes to grab the win. Otherwise, Krasnodar gained the necessary strength at the finish line. Coach Ivic has managed to put together a capable backbone and unify the players. Now, in terms of names, Krasnodar have a fairly well-named squad, given the current level of the RPL. Cordoba has found his form, Spercian is having a historic season, making more than twenty appearances. Matvey Safonov has survived a nasty slump. The only problem in the Russian league at the moment is the lack of motivation. Rostov, on the other hand, are going downhill. Valery Karpin's charges suffered two defeats in games where no one expected such a result. First, they ran into the home side's bus at Fakel, conceding two goals. Then they lost to an unmotivated Sochi. Unfortunately for the Southerners, both defeats were quite on target. Sochi allowed almost nothing to their medal contenders. Another bad news for Rostov was the injury to Nikolay Komlichenko. The forward is the backbone player in the team. There is practically no one to replace him. Karpin will have to rebuild the entire game. Add to that Utkin's poor form. This tandem was key in Rostov's breakthrough in the first part of the season. At the same time, Rostov are three games away from medals and are in complete control. Karpin is an excellent motivator, and the players still have an advantage in freshness and emotional mood. The status of a peculiar Southern derby is also important. If we take the official matches, the opponents almost always score against each other. At the same time, a different scenario is likely now. Rostov have limited potential in attack, while Krasnodar's players are emotionally drained after the Cup. It is not too likely to see open football without a centre-back.