Two of the Russian Premier League’s giants meet at the Kazan Arena on Wednesday evening, with Rubin taking on table-toppers Lokomotiv Moscow. The visitors have won their opening four league encounters of the new season, while Kurban Berdyev’s side have struggled, with just one in from their opening encounters. Despite this, Rubin Kazan are a side that can beat anyone on their day, with a clash against the league leaders potentially bringing the best out of the 2008 and 2009 Russian Premier League winners.
With Russian football becoming increasingly popular among betting customers, our expert view on the game is well worth taking advantage of, which included a detailed look at the two teams, along with our top betting tip for the clash.
Rubin Kazan Team News
Having finished in ninth position in the Russian Premier League, Rubin Kazan have made a poor start to the new campaign, collecting just a single win from their opening matches. Kurban Berdyev, who enjoyed a successful spell at the club between 2001-2013, has returned to the club following his time at FC Rostov, however he has not enjoyed a fairytale start. Berdyev has brought no fewer than four players with him from Rostov, including Vladimir Granat and Fedor Kudryashov, with the duo struggling to impress fans at the Kazan Arena to date. Having made the trip to take Moscow to take on CSKA just days earlier, Rubin will welcome another team form the capital on Wednesday, with the in-form Lokomotiv set to cause their defence all sorts of problems.
Lokomotiv Moscow
A narrow 1-0 victory over bottom of the table SKA Khabarovsk saw Lokomotiv Moscow maintain their 100% winning start to the campaign on Saturday, with Aleksey Miranchuk scoring the crucial goal. Having scored six and conceded just one in their opening four matches, manager Yuri Semin will be delighted with the start that his team has made. The Russian is now enjoying his fourth spell as Lokomotiv manager, as they look to improve upon their eighth-place finish from last season. The likes of Jefferson Farfan, Manuel Fernandes and Vedran Corluka are among the star names for the Moscow-based side, with on-loan striker Ari having been in superb form in front of goal following his move from FC Krasnodar.
Top Betting Tip
Given the two teams’ form in the early stages of the season, it is easy to predict an away win for Lokomotiv Moscow. However, Rubin Kazan are a difficult outfit to play against in front of their home fans, just one of the reasons as to why we are backing a draw for out top betting tip on this match. Backing a draw can be found at best odds of 15/8 at SkyBet.