On Saturday, 20 July, Krylya Sovetov will play against Zenit. The St. Petersburg team has only become stronger over the summer, which was already shown in the match for the Super Cup of Russia. But there are a lot more questions about the Samara team. In the first match, the team is logically seen as an outsider.

Zenit showed very high-quality football in the confrontation with Krasnodar. Maxim Glushenkov joined Sergei Semak's squad perfectly. The goalkeeper line has been strengthened, where there are now three goalkeepers. Glushenkov played a great match for his debut. It is important that the club has no significant losses so far, although there are a lot of rumours about Claudinho's departure. Wendel's future is also in question. At the same time, new star internationals are expected from day to day. For example, they are waiting for Torino midfielder Ivan Ilic.

At the moment, Zenit have two equivalent squads. Many big-name performers are getting crumbs of playing time.

Krylia Sovetov acquired Sergei Pesyakov over the summer. The veteran's move is definitely not a boost. Rumours of Benjamin Garre's departure have not been confirmed. The Argentine remained in the squad. Otherwise, Krylia look average in terms of composition and quality of football. There is no Nikita Saltykov in the attack now. We'll need to find new reserves. Coach Igor Osinkin is a fundamental figure in Samara. This season, Krylia are closer to the relegation zone than to the fight for medals.

There wasn't much optimism in the warm-up match either. Yes, Krylia defeated Sokol, but lost to KAMAZ. But with Rubin it was an entertaining 2-2 draw. The games have been very productive. Krylia conceded a lot in the last matches of the last championship. This was partly due to the unsure play of goalkeeper Lomaev.

Last season, Krylia managed to take points away from Zenit. The teams played each other in March. Osinkin's wards won a draw in the end. Samara is a convenient opponent for Zenit: in the last six matches there are five victories. In the championship, Krylia have not beaten the St. Petersburg grandee since 2006.

The odds for a win are not questionable, but the bookmakers are clearly over-insured with the total. Zenit plays on fire, and Krylya Sovetov with Osinkin rarely close in defence. The team always tries to act from themselves, even against top clubs. The history of head-to-head meetings also speaks for the exchange of goals: the bet took place in four games out of six. It is obvious that the teams are able to score at least three goals apiece. We can see the favourite to win in a productive encounter, as Zenit have plenty of motivated reserves.