Preview of the Russian Championship match Zenit — Dynamo

The text broadcast of the game will be available online in our match center.

Tickets to the Dynamo 205 Active Support sector can be purchased after registration on Zenit's official ticket website using this link. To purchase, you need to use the promo code DMG-16AC. The guest ticket office will not work on the day of the game.

We recommend that you generate QR codes in advance in the mobile application "Public Services. Fan Card" for the possibility of using the QR code offline (without Internet connection) when entering the stadium or printing them on paper in advance, or using other ways to save the QR code.

You can watch the live video broadcast of this game later on the Match TV channel. Beginning at 14:30 Moscow time.

Also, after the match, wait on our resources for the traditional edition of "Inside" with the highlights of the game and interviews of the actors.

Last week, the white-and-blues secured two victories – against Fakel (1-0) in the Cup and Dynamo Makhachkala (3-1) in the league. In the home game against the Dagestani team, the decisive factor was Sandro Schwarz's substitutions in the second half. Viktor Okishor provided two assists for Timofey Marinkin, who scored his debut goal for the main team, and Anton Miranchuk, while Dmitry Skopintsev capitalized on Konstantin Tyukavin's elegant backheel.

Meanwhile, Andrey Kudravets, who has gone on loan until next summer to Dynamo Minsk, and El-Mehdi Maouhoub, who has also moved to Dubai United on loan, have left the team.

"First and foremost, we need to be very disciplined and active in defense. But at the same time, when we have the ball, we need to maintain confidence, look for opportunities, and take advantage of the space that will surely open up. You can't win a match like this with defense alone. A good defense is the foundation. But beyond that, you need to effectively manage the ball and capitalize on your scoring opportunities," Schwarz emphasized in a lengthy interview with Sport-Express, detailing the players' condition ahead of the important match.

Zenit retained all of its key players this summer. The only changes were in the goalkeeping department: Mikhail Kerzhakov retired, and Evgeni Latyshonok returned to Baltika via Pari NN. Thus, Denis Adamov became the clear number one, while his namesake, Arsen, went to Akhmat.

There are two newcomers so far, but both have proven successful. Defender Kevin Andrade, who excelled at Baltika, scored for the St. Petersburg club in a 1-0 cup victory over the Kaliningrad team. Forward Felipe Augusto, who scored 15 goals for Trabzonspor last season, has also already scored, participating in a 5-0 rout of Akron at the start of the championship.

In the second round, Zenit left Orenburg with no chance in their away match (3-0) thanks to a hat-trick from Maxim Glushenkov. Few doubted their winning streak would continue in the home match against Rodina, but the RPL newcomers managed to surprise. In the first half, Glushenkov scored his fourth goal to take sole possession of the scoring lead, and after the break, Artur Garibyan's brace earned the Muscovites an unexpected three points.

"I think the psychologically successful first half backfired on us – we thought the second half would probably follow a similar pattern. But one mistake, and the game changed. One team had a psychological surge; they needed to defend a result that was shaping up well for them, while we needed to score. And in this situation, we fell back on simple passes, and even with such simple passes, of course, you need to maintain the structure and bring it to the moment when these passes need to be made", noted Sergei Semak after the match.

Dmitry Skopintsev at the beginning of his career for one season played for the Zenit youth team.

Igor Simutenkov, the coach of St. Petersburg, is the last Dynamo player who managed to become the top scorer of the Russian championship – in 1994 he scored 21 goals and helped the blue and white team win silver medals.

Maxim Glushenkov and Anton Miranchuk played together for Lokomotiv for a season and a half.

Sandro Schwarz and Sergey Semak met three times as Dynamo and Zenit coaches, and so far the Russian specialist has the upper hand – two wins and a draw.

Within the framework of the national championships, the teams met 151 times: 59 wins for our team, 42 draws and 50 times the advantage was on the side of Zenit. We are confidently leading in the goal difference – 212:165.

The top scorers in the history of the confrontation are Sergey Solovyov (14 goals), Alexander Kerzhakov (14), Vladimir Ilyin (7) and Artem Dzyuba (7).

The match was entrusted to Artem Chistyakov and linesmen Andrei Obrazko and Alexei Shiryaev. Pavel Kukuyan and Yevgeny Kukulyak will be responsible for the video Referee Assistance System (VAR).

Last season, the 39-year-old referee from Azov officiated the away games of the blue and whites against Dynamo Makhachkala (0:1) and Krasnodar (0:0, 5:6 on penalties).