After Stanislav Cherchesov took over as head coach, Akhmat Grozny established itself as a mid-table side in the division. Although the club has not been relegated from the Russian Premier League since the 2007/2008 season, the season before last was very worrying for Chechen football fans. Akhmat then dropped into the relegation/promotion playoff zone and was forced to prove in two tough matches its right to remain in the top tier of Russian football. Now Akhmat is not dazzling with results, but looks like a fairly sound project. The squad has long had a core, which during the transfer window was bolstered by several serious players. For a total of 4 million euros, Kirill Shchetinin, Romao, and Erald Maksuti were signed. Arsen Adamov and Kalidu Sidibe signed as free agents. Practically every one of the mentioned players has already shown himself in the opening matches of the season as a high-quality, combative unit. Akhmat's results did not click from the outset, but the team was literally burst through in mid-August, when first in the Russian Cup Fakel was defeated, and then in the Premier League Rostov was defeated 4-1. Like the two aforementioned, the upcoming match is planned in Grozny. Home advantage this season has yielded a win only once. The match in question is the game against Spartak Moscow in the second round of the championship. But even there Cherchesov's team led the match 0-1, letting the victory slip away due to the silliest mistakes. Krylia Sovetov started the season very promisingly. In the opening week the Samara team earned points twice in Moscow, drawing with Dynamo and CSKA. Serious problems for Krylia Sovetov began later, when in mid-August they lost three consecutive times at their home arena. In the last round of the Russian Premier League, Krylia Sovetov's players slightly improved morale with a crushing victory in the Samara derby, but the relationship between Sergei Bulatov's team and their fellow townsmen from Tolyatti is special and unlike anything else. In Grozny Krylia Sovetov faces a completely different football and a higher level of pressure. The last two matches in the Chechen capital the Samara players lost. Both matches were played in 2025, but the balance of power has not changed since then. Let's bet on another home victory for the hosts.