Rubin Kazan will wrap up top-three finish
Despite an impressive victory away to Kryliya Sovetov last time out, champions Rubin Kazan's chances of a third successive title are fading fast because of Zenit St Petersburg's stubborn refusal to allow last month's loss to Spartak Moscow to prompt a collapse in form.
Rubin are nine points off the pace with four games to play so it's going to take a spectacular turnaround to see Rubin retain, especially because three of Zenit's remaining fixtures are at home, so all the holders can do is keep winning and hope they go into their penultimate match against the leaders with top spot still up for grabs.
That won't be easy given their own incredibly tricky run-in which starts this afternoon with a home tie against Spartak Moscow who, though fairly easily swatted aside by Chelsea in Europe, are unbeaten in eight domestically, winning six of those.
The capital club aren't just assuming the role of spoilers either. They trail Rubin by eight points, meaning that defeat would effectively end their bid to return to the Champions League next season, while they are yet to guarantee the top-five finish required to at least reach the Europa League.
Will they kill Rubin's title challenge then? We don't think so. Kurban Berdyev's side have lost only twice all year, to main competitors Zenit and CSKA Moscow, while they have triumphed in seven straight home league games. We like the look of the [2.04] on Rubin taking the points.
The other wager that stands out is under 2.5 goals at [1.71], as there have only been two goals in Rubin's last four encounters in all competitions, while Spartak have conceded just once in five domestically. That defensive record suggests that a punt on Rubin nicking it 1-0 has potential at [7.4].
Rubin Kazan v Spartak Moscow
Kick-off: 4pm
Live on ESPN and Betfair Live Video
Disagree with our calls? Spartak are [4.2] to return to Moscow with three points...
Published: 8 Nov 2010
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