Russian League
2009-10-04 - Zenit St. Petersburg vs Dinamo Moscow
A Sports Betting Pick by Pantocrator
Football: Russian Premier League 2009/2010
Sunday, 04th October 2009 - 16:30
Zenit.St. Petersburg
Title hopes are waving in St. Petersburg after Zenit clinched an impressive 2-0 win against CSKA. A very intense game was determined by two goals: a penalty shot by Mateja Kezman and a wonder strike by Vladimir Bystrov.
Legendary Serbian striker Kezman opened his goal tally for Zenit late in the first half, but looked utterly disgusting during the rest of the match. His best days are obviously in the past. Vladymir Bystrov, though, is single handedly leading Zenit to the top, the russian national midfielder has scored in his 4th consecutive match since joining from Spartak.
Igor Semshov is back from suspension and will cover for Bystrov in midfield. Fatih Tekke also seems to be finding his form in Zenit, something that he has been lacking since arriving in Russia.
Anatoly Davydov, current caretaker of the team, will surely work out the remainder of the season. Zenit’s press center announced the club would announce the name of the new manager in two weeks time. Luciano Spalletti and Miodrag Bojovic are the candidates.
Dinamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow finally got a win after almost a month “victory diet”. Three points were earned in Kobelev’s trade mark fashion. An early goal by Luis Aguiar put Dynamo in front against Saturn, and the hosts went on to hold on to a narrow win. The outcome was never questioned, though, as Kobelev’s team dominated the flow of the match.
Even though Dynamo is proclaiming ambitious targets such as a top 5 finish – on paper they hardly can relish hopes of completing it. Injuries to Denis Kolodin and Dmitry Gabulov have visibly weakened the back line, while in attack they never really had the necessary depth.
Before the visit to Zenit, Dynamo is short of defenders Jovan Tanasievic’ and Marcin Kovalcik. The two clubs have a very “special” relationship. During recent years Zenit continually showed interest in Dynamo’s top players – as a result Danny and Semshov were transferred to St. Petersburg. Moreover Andrey Kobelev, Denis Kolodin and Alexandr Kerzhakov have been more than once rumored to be on the verge of going to Zenit.
Betting advice
Many specialists now consider Zenit to be shadow title contenders. Indeed they have one of the best schedules amongst the top teams, so every home match becomes absolutely vital.
However absence of Vladimir Bystrov,in my opinion, will prove a problem for Zenit. Especially in attack. The guy has virtually won 4 recent games for Zenit through great individual efforts and now he is out.
Dinamo is used to being plagued with injuries and Andrey Kobelev will adopt his beloved defensive football.
I am sorry, but I value in the under 2.5 goals here. The -1 handicap is too much.
BEST BETTING TIP :
Hit under 2.5 goals @ 1.76 (main bet).Good prices with 1.76 @ Ladbrokes; Bet365 has it @ 1.77;
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
You can put your trust in Zenit (-1) @ 1.94 with Ladbrokes;
