On Sunday, 18 May, Zenit will play away against Rostov. The Piters are in a very depressed state. The team is out of the Russian Cup. In the Russian championship we only need to hope for misfires of Krasnodar. Rostov does not solve any problems in the RPL.

The calendar this time speaks in favour of Zenit. Rostov has thrown all their efforts into the Cup of Russia. The team will get three incomplete days for rest. There is a situation in which the southerners simply will not recover after the meeting with Spartak. The depth of the bench does not allow Rostov to evenly play 2-3 games in a row.

The roster has become much weaker in the winter. Valeri Karpin's departure was unpleasant. The second important story: Danil Glebov left the team. Without a key midfielder, there was no crisis, but Rostov will definitely be weaker in the distance. Now the new coach Jonathan Alba is boldly experimenting.

An interesting detail: Rostov have a series of matches for the total less. Before the game with Spartak, there were six of them. Under Valeri Karpin, on the contrary, the club acted much more boldly. Now minimal wins and defeats are the norm for Rostov.

The squad looks very weak by name. Only a strong defence keeps Rostov afloat. The attack clearly lacks skill and creativity. Now Shantaliy, Komarov, Shchetinin make up the fist in the creative group, and there is more time for veteran Bayramyan. A modest midfielder - nothing more.

Zenit faced radical criticism after the cup debacle. The team squandered a two goal lead over CSKA. Obviously, the management will now wait for a reaction. Otherwise, a mini-revolution in Zenit is possible. The Piters, after all, were planning a double in the club's centenary.

A huge problem for Sergei Semak now is the loss of Wendel. The Brazilian, according to the latest reports, flew to his homeland without a return ticket. The key midfielder was injured and will not play for Zenit again. There is no adequate replacement for him. Semak has already tried both Ilzat Akhmetov and Yuriy Gorshkov in this role - nothing worked out.

Zenit have a lot of problems, but their skill is much higher. The team will surely tune in and easily take the three points. Rostov's fatigue factor is also important here. The club will also be travelling by train to their hometown from Moscow. It's almost impossible to recover. Besides, morally Rostov finished the championship long ago. The club has nothing to fight for. In the second half, the rotation will also have an impact. Rostov simply have no depth in the squad, and Zenit will easily finish off their opponents. Even Aleksandr Sobolev can be effective in such a situation.