The Russian Premier League is one of the many leagues in Europe where professional footballers ply their trade however, due to the immense popularity of the top 5 leagues and other European leagues such as Liga Nos and the Eredivisie the Russian Premier League (RPL) doesn’t have a big following so therefore it’s popularity is only visible within Russia. This article is meant to give football fans an insight into the current season and hopefully encourage people to offer a more insightful eye towards the Russian League.

The Race for the Title and Top 4

At the time of writing Zenit are leading the League with 45 points from 19 games and have a 10 point gap over second placed Krasnodar. If Zenit can maintain their 10 point gap and if possible further the lead they have the club could acquire their 6th RPL title which would be their second title under Sergei Semak who was appointed Zenit manager in the 2018/19 season and won the league at the first time of asking. The race for the title seems to be settled as Zenit don’t look like they will relinquish their 10 point gap over Krasnodar having lost only 2 games all season.

Despite the race for the title seeming to go towards Zenit the race for the top 4 is much more interesting. One point separates Krasnodar who are on 35 points and in second place from 5th placed Lokomotiv Moscow who are on 34 points and are tied with 3rd place Rostov and 4th place CSKA Moscow on points. With 19 games of the Russian Premier League played and another 11 more to go it is unclear as to who will miss out on the top 4. When the RPL kicks off in February after a extremely long winter break Zenit will face Lokomotiv Moscow which will be an important game to both teams as the former will seek to maintain their 10 point gap while the latter will aim for a win so as not to fall behind their fellow top 4 competitors.

To those who will want to keep up to date on the race for top 4 here are some matches that will offer a great deal of excitement and intrigue as the season progresses: GW 21– Rostov Vs Cska, GW 22– Rostov Vs Lokomotiv, GW 23– CSKA Vs Zenit, GW 25– Rostov Vs Krasnodar, GW 26– Krasnodar Vs Zenit, GW 29– Lokomotiv Vs Cska, GW 30– Rostov Vs Zenit. It is these matches that make this season of the Russian Premier League very exciting to watch and fans of those respective clubs will be nervous in the next 11 games as they will want their club to finish in the top 4. Expect a lot of nail biting to be done over the course of the season. Also don’t sleep on Arsenal Tula who many will rule out of the top 4 place as they are 9 points behind Lokomotiv but considering how competitive this league is you can’t rule them out.

Bottom End of the Table

If you fellow readers thought the race for the top 4 was interesting the fight to stave off relegation is even more thrilling. 4 points separate 15th place FC Krylia Sovetov Samara who are on 18 points from 10th place Spartak Moscow who are on 22 points and it must be stated that even 6th place Arsenal Tula are only 7 points ahead of FC Krylia and can’t be ruled out of falling down the table and getting engulfed in a relegation battle. 12th to 14th place in the league are tied on 19 points which gives 16th place PFC Sochi a chance to move out of last place as they are only 4 points behind 12th place Republican FC Akhmat Grozny. More than the top 4 battle personally I feel the fight to avoid 15th and 16th place is way more exciting as any of the teams from 6th to 16th aren’t safe from relegation.

The Star Performers

Moving away from the league and it’s competitiveness time to take a look at the players. Artem Dzyuba who has been a Zenit player since 2015 is leading the golden boot race with 11 goals from 19 appearances and close behind him are Aleksandr Sobolev from FC Krylia and Elder Shomurodov who are on 10 goals a piece. If you want an outside contender for the golden boot former PSG player Gregorz Krychowiak is on 8 goals and can pose a threat to Dzyuba.

Leading the assists chart is Artem Dzyuba with 9 assists followed by Bakaev from Spartak Moscow and Ionov from Rostov who have 7 assists. Dzyuba seems to be the RPL player of the season as he is leading both the goals and assists chart at the ripe old age of 31 which has propelled Zenit to 1st place in the League.

Conclusion

The Russian Premier League altho not being given a lot of consideration from Europeans in other countries seeing how competitive the league is in terms of top 4 still being up for grabs and how any two of the teams from 6th to 16th can end the season in a relegation place. There’s something to watch in this league be it whether up the table or at the bottom and hey if you find the Premier League too boring considering Liverpool seem to impossible to beat why don’t you go check out the Russian League and see all the nail biting that will occur in the next 11 gameweeks. Thanks for giving this a read and as always if there’s a topic you guys want me to write don’t be afraid to say so.