On Saturday, 28 October, Fakel will play at home against Spartak. "Krasno-Whites" can still feel themselves participants of the championship race, occupying the fourth place in the table. The club from Voronezh is desperately fighting for survival in the elite of Russian football.

Spartak have endured an extremely difficult moment in the season after a series of frustrating defeats. The club managed to pick up four points in the last two meetings. "Red-Whites" achieved a peaceful outcome in the derby with CSKA. Then they defeated Nizhny Novgorod with reserves. There is a certain reliability in defence. Coach Abascal continues to trust the Duarte/Babich combination.

Spartak's main disadvantage is the lack of stability in the lineup. Abascal changes combinations almost every game. A large number of Russians came out for the game with Paris NN. At the moment, the club has a lot of players to play only in the Russian championship. This creates artificial problems, as the club can not find the right rhythm. A new difficulty is the poor form of Theo Bongonda. The Congolese has dramatically declined after a successful start. Spartak's attack creates a lot, but doesn't score much from play. Realisation continues to be a problem. We can expect a definite breakthrough in one of the matches.

Fakel has the lowest transfer value of players in the league. For the second year in a row, the club is surprisingly decent in the elite, disturbing the giants. The team from Voronezh competently changes coaches. Vadim Evseev's resignation helped a lot. Under Sergei Tashuev the club's results went in the direction of sharp progress. A hopeless outsider in the RPL has not lost in three consecutive matches and concedes very little. In the last round, they won in Orenburg, where it is very difficult for everyone to play.

Fakel can also boast of an organised defence in the match against Dinamo. The club was not without luck, but defended a nil-nil draw. Fakel operates a very defensive scheme, where seven players are actually responsible for the defence. In attack, there is a minimum of creative players. The club professes a straightforward strategy. The result so far is even against top clubs. A big plus for Fakel is the home stands, although this season this trump card is of little advantage.

Bookmakers give quite high odds on Spartak. There is a gulf between the clubs in the transfer value of players and individual skill. Fakel remains one of the main contenders for relegation. The club will come out with a clear attitude of patience in defence. Spartak have some confidence. They can score one or two goals in class. Plus, the Red and Whites objectively have a statistical error in realisation. There could be a breakthrough.