On June 16, the final round of the Russian Football Championship will take place, in which all points will be placed in tournament intrigues, of which there are plenty even after 29 matches already played by each team. Almost all clubs in the Russian Premier League still have tournament interests, which they will defend in the last match of the season. The price of one goal, sending off or a missed penalty in some meetings can reach tens of millions of euros.
Tedesco puts an end to Spartak: who fights for what in the last round
On June 16, the final round of the Russian Football Championship will take place, in which all points will be placed in tournament intrigues, of which there are plenty even after 29 matches already played by each team. Yes, the “golden” race is already over, “Zenith” is not the first week accepting congratulations on defending the title, and the unfortunate “Tambov”, in turn, issued an early farewell to the elite division, but almost all other clubs in the Russian Premier League still have tournament interests, which will be defended in the last match of the season. The price of one goal, removal or missed penalty in some meetings can reach tens of millions of euros, so the passions on the football fields will boil serious.
All matches of the final round of the RPL will traditionally start at the same time (at 14:00 Moscow time) in order to exclude the possibility of some clubs adjusting to the results of teams that have already played. The final of the Cup of Russia last week, won by Lokomotiv against Krylia Sovetov, closed the question regarding the algorithm for distributing tickets to European competitions, which is now extremely simple and understandable. Zenith in the rank of champion receives a pass to the group stage of the Champions League. The team that will finish second will try to get into the main draw of the main European club tournament through the qualification. In addition to two league passes, RPL representatives are entitled to a ticket to the Europa League and 2 passes to a new tournament – the Conference League.
The decisive role in the distribution of teams in European tournaments should be played by Lokomotiv, which, having won the national cup, has already guaranteed itself at least getting into the Europa League. If the “railwaymen” overtake “Spartak” and take the second line in the standings, they will get into the Champions League selection, and the red-and-whites with their “bronze” will go to the Europa League. Teams that take 4th-5th places go to the Conference League. If Loko takes a place below 2nd (the red-greens will not fall below 5th in any case), then they will go to the Europa League, and the rest of the clubs from among 3-5 teams will go to the Conference League.
But with the exchange of clubs between the RPL and the second oldest Russian division (FNL), not everything is so simple. If the “Wings” received the blessing of the football authorities in the form of an appropriate license to participate in the Premier League, then there is no clarity with the rest of the contenders. It is possible that there will be no play-offs at all.But candidates for joints are definitely not worth laying on this. Here we are, understanding the intrigues of the final round, we will proceed from the fact that the teams that took 15-16th places are relegated directly, and the clubs that finish in 13-14th lines will fight in the joints with rivals from the FNL.
We talk about what Spartak, CSKA, Ufa and the rest will fight for next Sunday, paying attention to each of the eight meetings.
Khimki – Sochi
If the Moscow residents, having lost to Spartak in the previous round, have already said goodbye to dreams of European competition, then the Sochi residents have a very real chance of making their debut in Europe. The team should say thanks for this, including Artur Yusupov, whose injury-time goal over the weekend gave Sochi a victory over Rotor, the strategic value of which can hardly be overestimated. Minimum task for the team Vladimir Fedotov – do not lose to the combat team Igor Cherevchenko. In the case of gaining at least one point in Khimki, the southerners will definitely not fall below the fifth line.
The victory of Sochi is not particularly needed, because even if you manage to get around the Locomotive, then a ticket to the Europa League will still go to the railroad. But the defeat in Khimki Christian Noboa and his partners will leave a chance for CSKA to oust Sochi from the strongest quintet.
Ufa – Arsenal
Perhaps the hottest match of the 30th round will take place in Ufa, where the local team will host Tula. Arsenal could protect themselves from a direct relegation in the last round, but could not keep a 2-goal advantage at home in the match against Rubin (2:4). Now the team Dmitry Parfenov, which hardly anyone at the start of the season expected to see at the finish line in the danger zone, there will be a real fight in Ufa, in which, however, you can lose. In the case of a score, Arsenal will definitely not fly out directly. Yes, and the defeat will be fatal for the red-yellow, only in the event of a victory, “Rotor” in Volgograd, which is extremely unlikely.
For Ufa the situation is very clear – a victory will lead the team Alexey Stukalov at the joints. In case of a draw or defeat, the Ufimians need to ensure that Rotor does not play better than them, because if the points are equal, the Volgograd team will take a higher place due to the balance of personal meetings.
Theoretically, both Ufa and Arsenal, given the low probability of Rotor's victory, may well be satisfied with a draw, but a team from the capital of Bashkiria, demonstrating rather aggressive football after the change of head coach, is unlikely to agree to such a risk and will certainly play victory.
Rubin – Rotor
Ruby head coach Leonid Slutsky originally from Volgograd, and in order not to miss a ticket to European competition, Kazan will have to send Rotor to the direct relegation zone. A win or a draw will make the team from the capital of Tatarstan out of reach for CSKA, but for Rotor, any loss of death points is similar. A defeat is guaranteed to leave Volgograd in last place, and in case of a draw, the team Alexey Stukalov it is necessary that Ufa did not score points in the match with Arsenal at all. Considering that the match will take place on the field of “Rubin”, which is obviously higher in class, but no less motivated, it is not difficult to assume that the Volgograd team has already missed the decisive goal. In the previous round in Sochi, where they missed the ball that brought the southerners victory in the last minute.
"Tambov – Zenith
The only match of the tour, in which the result does not affect the standings of the opponents. No forces will move Zenit from the first place, and Tambov from the last.
Lokomotiv – Ural
“Bumblebees” under no circumstances will leave the 12th line in the standings, but “Loko” has something to fight for. If the team wins Marko Nikolicha catch up with Spartacus, the equality of points with which will bring the railroad in second place. But for this equality, it is not enough for the red-greens to win, we must also wait for the defeat of the red-white competitors in Grozny.
Dynamo – CSKA
A round before the finish of the championship, the blue-and-whites said goodbye to the chances of getting into European competition, and their rivals in the Moscow derby have the weakest positions among applicants for tickets to Europe. For the first time in 20 years, CSKA may be left without European cups, because in order to get ahead of Rubin or Sochi, the red-blues must not only defeat Dynamo themselves, but also wait for the defeat of one of the over-motivated competitors. Even after a beautiful victory over Krasnodar in the last round, the task itself is to beat the blue and white, who this spring under the leadership of Sandro Schwartz they play quite recklessly and effectively, it does not look the easiest. And it will be even more difficult to wait for gifts from Sochi residents from Khimki, and even more so from Kazan residents from Kazan.
"Akhmat – Spartak
Already said goodbye to the fans in the last home match of the season Domenico Tedesco only one match remains at the helm of Spartak, but it is by its result that the work of the German specialist in the Moscow club will be judged. For the second place, delegating the team to the Champions League qualification, it remains only to take a step – not to lose to Akhmat in Grozny. Today, it is not fundamental how feasible the task for Spartak players will be to overcome the Champions League selection, but a modest place in the red-and-white history of Tedesco will be determined by which tournament – Champions League or LE – his successor will play with Spartak.
Grozny will not be able to fundamentally change their standings, but there is an opportunity to put a beautiful end to the season. “Akhmat” after an extremely unexpected defeat in Volgograd in the round before last already apologized to the fans with a confident victory over “Tambov”, but, as Stirlitz used to say, the last one is remembered. For the head coach of Grozny Andrey Talalaev the result of the last match of the season is quite important, which is confirmed by the fact of his personal visit to the previous meeting of Spartak.
The game, as well as the results of Akhmat, can hardly be called stable, and it is rather difficult to predict in what form the team will appear in the next match. Stylistically, Grozny can be called quite a convenient opponent for the red-and-whites. Quite a confident victory of Muscovites at home at the start of the championship was a confirmation of this. Perhaps, it was in that match of the 2nd round that Spartak demonstrated the highest quality game before the winter break. Given the high motivation of Muscovites, it is not at all difficult to name the favorite of the upcoming meeting, but you should not prematurely give second place to Spartak, which, however, even if defeated, can get into the Champions League.
Rostov – Krasnodar
Team Valeria Karpina, like Viktor Gancharenko, may, if successful, move up one line in the standings, which will be a nice bonus for opponents who lost in the previous round and are finishing a not very successful season. There is no psychological pressure on Rostov and Krasnodar, and there cannot be, the match has no fundamental tournament value, so the audience has the right to count on a productive game.
