Our panel consists of:
David Sansun (RubinKazanUK): Writer at RussianFootballNews
Andrew Flint (@AndrewMijFlint): Writer for TheseFootballTimes, RussianFootballNews, Futbolgrad and BackPageFootball.com
Thomas Giles (Thomas_Giles_UK): Writer for RussianFootballNews
Toke Theilade (@TokeTheilade): Chief Editor at RussianFootballNews, featured at Futbolgrad, ThinkFootball and TheseFootballTimes
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Question 1: Who will finish in top 5 and who will win the cup?
David: In no specific order: Zenit, CSKA, Spartak, Dinamo, Rubin.
Zenit and CSKA are no brainers. Spartak were 1/2 players (and a good manager) away from doing good last year. Dinamo haven’t lost anyone really so they should continue being decent and Rubin maybe I’m being biased.
Cup I will give to CSKA but it’s a lottery really.
Andrew: Common consensus has it that Zenit will walk away with the title again, but I have a sneaking suspicion that CSKA will threaten them more closely this time round. It entirely depends on their ability to bring in a striker of proven experience and quality – Ahmed Musa gamely did the job he was asked last time round, but is quite clearly not a number 9. Carlos Strandberg might have to mature more quickly than anyone would have wanted, and it could be the making or breaking of him, but I would see it as too great a risk to put the onus on his teenaged shoulders at this stage. Of the others, Krasnodar have recruited brilliantly, and I expect them to be in a very similar position this time round. Fyodor Smolov had a fabulous end to the season on loan at Ural, and this is a great move for him and the club, especially with the “6+5″ ruling, and having done their business early they have given themselves time to settle and gel a bit. Fourth place is where it gets interesting; Dinamo still have a lot of quality on paper, but with the FFP punishments, messy change of manager, loss of reliable striking options and dissatisfied stars like Balázs Dzsudzsák and Matthieu Valbuena I can see them falling away dangerously. Rubin look best prepared to break last season’s top four, although the Alenichev effect is yet to become clear at Spartak. CSKA, Zenit, Krasnodar, Rubin for Europe, with Spartak just missing out for me.
I see Kuban making a good run of it in the Cup, with Dmitry Khokhlov’s popular appointment. The signings of Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin could be inspired, and with no European campaign to distract them, this will be their best chance of silverware.
Thomas: 1. Zenit, 2. CSKA, 3. Rubin, 4. Krasnodar, 5. Dynamo
Cup: Rubin
Zenit will win the title with ease ahead of CSKA. Krasnodar will not be able to keep up the position they had last year as I see a very succesful season for Rubin who will overtake them, this good season includes Rubin as Cup Winners.
Dynamo, despite all the off-field chaos, will have no European football to distract them allowing them to focus more on the league.
Toke: The championship fight will once again be between Zenit and CSKA. These two clubs are simply on a different level at the moment, and over a long season I don’t see any clubs threatening their hegemony. I believe Zenit will repeat last season’s victory. Zenit’s squad is almost complete and they have a good depth on all positions, something CSKA lack. CSKA does however usually find a way around this, and their main problem is that they don’t have a reliable striker.
The fight for the Europa League giving 3rd and 4th places will be close, but if Dinamo manage to get their difficult situation under control and keep the stars happy, they should be strong enough to take one of these spots, and I believe Krasnodar will take the other one. Spartak or Rubin will finish fifth, and then will Lokomotiv end up as the worst Moscow club in the Premier League this season.
The cup is incredibly difficult to predict, but it should be a main target for the clubs who are not competing in Europe this season, meaning Spartak and Dinamo. Both clubs are experiencing a title drought, and a cup victory would mean the world to the fans.
Question 2: Who will be relegated?
David: Relegated: Mordovia and Krylia. Mordovia have no firepower and I just can see that not working for them. Krylia I can’t see being strong enough after promotion and with no real additions yet.
Andrew: Krylya Sovetov and Anzhi are much stronger than Torpedo and Arsenal in my view, so it will be even tougher to avoid the drop. With their backing and genuine top-class players like Yannick Bolli and Lorenzo Ebicilio they should establish themselves mid table as a minimum. Krylya have some issues with their squad size right now, but they have a great manager in Vercauteren. I was not impressed with Ufa last season when they came to the Geolog against Ural, but both teams will most likely be around the relegation playoffs again. Goncharenko’s appointment is a coup for the Siberians, but replacing Smolov will be tough. Mordovia struggled for goals last season but had a vastly experienced manager in Yuriy Semin to guide them, and I see them taking one of the bottom two spots. For me, it is between Ural and Ufa for the other automatic relegation spot, but if it had to say, it’d be Mordovia and Ufa to go down.
Thomas: Mordovia and Ural. Mordovia will have a case of second season syndrome. Pretty dreadful defensively last season and atrocious away record, cannot see them improving it and the big players will not fulfill their potential.
Ural will not be able to improve on last season and the promoted sides will overtake them.
Toke: This is a difficult question as the league is much more competitive than last season with Anzhi and Krylya being stronger teams than Torpedo and Arsenal. I will go with Mordovia and Ural. Mordovia, who finished on an impressive eight place last season, have lost their talisman Yuri Semin, which could very well be the deciding factor. Semin is an excellent coach, and he guided them brilliantly through last season.
Regarding Ural, they have a good coach in Viktor Goncharenko, but he is still inexperienced and he has never been involved in a relegation fight before.
Amkar, Rostov and Ufa will also be involved in the battle to avoid relegation, so will Krylya, and all of these clubs can end up playing FNL football when next season kicks off.
Question 3: Which club will disappoint this year?
David: Well based on the first round of games I will say that either of the Krasnodar sides might disappoint in comparison to last season. Neither were hugely impressive against weaker opposition, but Kuban less so.
Andrew: Dinamo. Disappoint might not quite be the word for them, given how catastrophic their preparations for the new season have been, but the corner-cutting and recruitment policy will come back to haunt them in a major way. Once Valbuena, Dzsudsák and Kuranyi are removed from the equation, with Kokorin’s chronic drop in form, it becomes a much bleaker picture, and the frustration of missing out on M’Vila and Dyakov will be a blow. I really don’t see them challenging for any honours this season, which is a crime given their size and status.
Thomas: Mordovia – One of my candidates for relegation. A lucky finish last year and they will show their true colours this season.
Toke: This is all about expectations. With Dinamo’s catastrophic preseason my expectations for them are low, so they can’t disappoint me. I’ll say Spartak since the expectations are huge at the moment. Even though the fans don’t expect titles or anything, they still demand improvement and good football. Patience will be shown in the beginning, but Alenichev is also forced to give the club some good results early to keep the pressure away, and this could be difficult. We talk about a new Spartak, but this is not the first time, and I fear they could easily fall back into old habits. Both Rubin Kazan and Krasnodar could also be in for a difficult season as they can no longer go under the radar. Especially at Krasnodar will there be a pressure to build on the impressive third place last season.
Question 4: Which club will surprise this season?
David: Ufa. Good last season considering promotion and have strengthened very well this summer in my opinion.
Andrew: Kuban. I have a feeling that Khokhlov will bond the squad well, but most of all his appointment represents a more sensible approach to taking the club forward; Goncharenko was an understandable choice, but the speed of his dismissal suggested that the board were expecting even greater miracles than he achieved on the pitch. Normally I’d say signing two ageing stars like Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko is a desperate publicity stunt, but by bringing them both in they should be assured of not being simply a gimmick. They actually make sense too; losing Popov and Almeida left two holes in the positions they will fill.
Thomas: Anzhi – Only a surprise as they are a promoted team, can see them finishing midtable.
Toke: I think Anzhi can repeat Mordovia and end up on a comfortable spot in the middle of the table. Their squad is actually quite good, although it can’t be compared with the one from the Eto’o era, and many of their stars are players around their best age.
Question 5: Which player will get his big break through this season?
David: Hard to call, I’ll list 3 and keep it to only one Rubin player. Ilzak Akhmetov (Rubin), Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA) and Igor Bezdenezhnykh (Ufa).
Akhmetov played sporadically last season and showed sparks of talent, he should get more playing time this year. Golovin made his Russia debut which should lead to more RPL game time, and Bezdenezhnykh has impressed for the U19 NT, so I think he could be given a chance at lowly Ufa.
Andrew: Personally I’d like to pick out Ilzat Ahmetov at Rubin. When he appeared last season I was so impressed by his confidence running with the ball. He is unlikely to get a huge amount of game time due to his age though, so more realistically I’m going to say Smolov. Last season was technically his breakthrough season, but his form only really caught alight towards the end of the season, and his goal tally wasn’t spectacular. This is the real test of his mental ability to finally live up to his tag for a whole season with his parent club, and the ambitious Krasnodar are ideal for his development.
Thomas: Artur Yusupov- Already quite well known but now he is plying his trade at the top of the table with Zenit. Playing Champions League football will bring him to the attention of the incoming Russian national team coach. With Witsel’s probable departure he could cement himself in the Zenit midfield.
Toke: I would love to say Zenit’s 19 year old striker Ramil Sheydayev who is one of the keyplayers at Russia’s U19 national team, but unfortunately I fear he won’t get much playing time this season.
I will go with Lokomotiv Moscow’s Aleksey Miranchuk. We saw his huge talent last season, and I expect him to play an even bigger role for Lokomotiv this season. He is one of the country’s greatest talents, and it seems like Cherevchenko is ready to give him responsibility on Lokomotiv’s midfield.
