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Lokomotiv Moscow finished at 2nd spot last season 8 points behind Zenit. They boast a solid home record losing only 1 home game all season unexpectedly to Ural due to a penalty call. Overall, they have been very strong at home. They have made 3 purchases in the transfer market so far in which all 3 are from the defensive department. This means Lokomotiv is serious in bolstering up their defence. 1 of the interesting buys could well be a player to watch this season. They have landed Murilo Cerqueira, the former Cruzeiro centre back. Rubin Kazan is not a bad team either but based on H2H records with Lokomotiv, the home side possess am exceptional record against the visitors.
Lokomotiv Moscow to win.
Both teams had contrasting fortunes the last season. While Moscow qualified directly for the Champions League, courtesy their second-place finish, their counterparts had a run in with UEFA due to breaches in Financial Fair Play rules, which resulted in them getting banned for continental games.
Anyhow, they had finished 11th in the table of 16 and would have had no shot to make it to Europe.
Moscow and Krasnodar had ended up with the same number of points, but owing to the favorable h2h results, the former took the direct-qualification spot.
These teams are at different ends of the form-spectrum, and if the performance of last season is any indication, we’ll see the home team having yet another of their routine wins.
They had finished in the top-tier of league standings, while their opposite number barely avoided relegation. Moreover, Lokomotiv was unbeaten in 25 of their last 26 games and won five of their last six as well. At home, they are on a streak of 18 invincible ties and had separate four-game, and six-game winning runs.
On the other hand, Rubin was winless in 17 of their last 20 match-ups, and in 19 of their last 20 away from home. Finally, Moscow won the last three h2h ties and kept clean sheets in the last five clashes. Also, they won five of the last six battles at this venue, while letting in a single goal from their last ten visits.
By all means, expect a home win this week in the Premier League.