On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Abu Dhabi will host the first match of the RPL Winter Cup off-season tournament between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg.
When is the start and where to watch
The text broadcast of the game will be available online in our match center.
The meeting will take place at the Al-Nahyan Stadium, the entrance to which will be free for fans (entrance through the third gate). You can watch the live video broadcast of this game on the website of the Match TV channel. The meeting starts at 15:00.
Also on our resources there will be a traditional edition of "Inside" with the highlights of the game.
Team status
At their first training camp in the UAE, Rolan Gusev's team played two matches as part of the BetBoom Dynamo Global Challenge. Both matches against Chinese sides Shanghai Shenhua (2-2) and Chengdu Rongcheng (1-1) ended in draws. The Blue-Whites won one penalty shootout and lost the other.
After two days off, the players resumed work on Thursday and continue training two or three times a day. Artur is training with the main group at almost full capacity. Luis Chavez, Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov, Danil Glebov, and Dmitry Alexandrov are still working on their individual programs.
Four clubs will participate in the traditional winter tournament in Abu Dhabi this year: Dynamo, Zenit, CSKA, and Krasnodar. The winner will be determined by a single-round robin tournament. Last year, the St. Petersburg club won.
About the opponent
During the winter break, the St. Petersburg club decided to part ways with three tall players at once: Mateo Cassierra and Gerson went to Brazil, while Luciano Gonda ended up with CSKA in a high-profile trade. This leaves the team with only one clear center forward – Alexander Sobolev.
Igor Diveev, the Army Men's longtime defensive leader, departed CSKA in the opposite direction, and at the end of January, Zenit acquired a new attacker from Brazil named Jhon Jhon. Last year, the 23-year-old scored 13 goals and provided 11 assists for Red Bull Bragantino.
"He's a fairly intelligent player and can play in several positions. Jhon Jhon is well-positioned, has a good sense of space, and understands when and where to move. It's clear that all players have a favorite position, but experience shows that they can be even more effective in other positions. Jhon Jhon has a good vision of the field, which is why he can play in various positions, including the flanks," said Zenit assistant coach William de Oliveira.
The Brazilian is still getting used to his new team and will likely make his debut during the tournament. Diveev, meanwhile, started both friendly matches during Zenit's first training camp, in which the St. Petersburg team defeated Chinese champions Shanghai Port 4-1 and 6-0. Alexander Erokhin scored three times in those games, and Sobolev scored twice.
