Spartak M – Lokomotiv M

Lokomotiv will not lose in the Moscow derby

The Moscow derby will take place between Spartak and Lokomotiv at a crucial moment for both teams. Spartak, in the Russian Premier League standings, no longer threatens anything serious. The gap to first place for the red-and-whites is a substantial eleven points. At the same time, Spartak players cannot afford to play half-heartedly. During the winter break, the team was led by Juan Carcedo, who had successfully implemented a football project in Cyprus. It should be recalled that Pafos, under the guidance of the new Spartak coach, won the local championship and advanced to the group stage of the Champions League. In the camp of the red-and-whites a new team is being formed, whose goal will be to compete for the title as early as next season, so Carcedo will not let his players play at full strength right away. Lokomotiv has much higher ambitions in the current championship. Few believe that the railwaymen after Dmitry Barinov's departure to CSKA can fight for the championship with Krasnodar and Zenit, but such a development is by no means excluded by the current league situation. Only five points separate Mikhail Galaktionov's squad from first place, and the rivals do not look unbeatable. Bookmakers have named the home side the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.86 on their victory. Spartak approaches the match with noticeable personnel problems. The main loss will be Marquinhos, who accumulated yellow cards in the previous round. Due to injuries, several players will not take the field at once: Srdjan Babic, Vladislav Saus, Igor Dmitriev and Ilya Samoshnikov. Two recent official matches have been wins for Spartak. In the national cup, the red-and-whites defended prestige after an away drubbing by beating Dynamo 1-0, and in the championship they took three points from Orenburg, 2-0. On the one hand, the mood of Carcedo's charges should be good; on the other hand, Lokomotiv could well spoil it. In the last round the railwaymen ended their bad run with a 5-1 thrashing of Akron. In the first leg Loko defeated Spartak 4-2. In the upcoming meeting the visitors will also not look worse.