Orenburg backed to edge Zenit at home

Orenburg head into Sunday's home meeting with Zenit on the back of three straight wins and a recent home victory in this fixture. Zenit remain unbeaten, but their recent results have been less convincing than expected.

By 7MTHScore Staff

Orenburg host Zenit St Petersburg in the Russian Premier League on Sunday evening, and the home side look capable of taking all three points. Although Zenit are unbeaten, a return of one win and two draws has not been especially convincing, while Orenburg are on a three-game winning run and also won the most recent meeting between the sides.

Orenburg began the new league season with a 2-1 home comeback win over Rostov, and they did it despite being reduced to 10 men. Substitute Kasimov played a decisive role with one goal and one assist. Their form in pre-season friendlies was also impressive, with wins over Rubin Kazan and CSKA Moscow. Crucially, Orenburg also pulled off a surprise 2-1 home victory over Zenit in their most recent home meeting. Back on home soil, they will be aiming to repeat that result. Savichev is suspended for this match.

As defending Russian Premier League champions, Zenit's quality is beyond doubt, and they opened the league campaign with a 5-0 away win over Akron Tolyatti. Even so, their recent overall form has not been flawless. They were held 1-1 by Spartak Moscow in normal time in the Russian Super Cup before eventually lifting the trophy on penalties, and they had also drawn a friendly against Dynamo Makhachkala earlier. More worrying is their away record in this fixture in recent years, with just one win and two defeats from their last three league visits to Orenburg. Zenit could be set for another disappointing trip.