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Spartak Moscow and FC Rostov go head-to-head in their upcoming Russian Premier League fixture on Saturday at Otkritie Arena.
The home side suffered a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Zenit St. Petersburg in their previous outing while Rostov recorded their second win in three games as they made quick work of Arsenal Tula, recording a 4-0 home win last week.
Though Rostov have scored five goals more than the hosts, they are five places behind Spartak Moscow, in 12th place in the league standings.
Spartak Moscow vs FC Rostov Head-to-Head
The two clubs have crossed paths 58 times across all competitions so far. As one would expect, the hosts have been the better side in this fixture with 34 wins to their name.
Rostov have managed to record 14 wins while the spoils have been shared 10 times between the two sides. They have been the better side in recent encounters with four wins in their last seven games.
The two sides last squared off in league action at Rostov Arena in April, with the game ending in a 3-2 win for the visitors with Aleksandr Sobolev bagging a brace to secure a comeback win.
Spartak Moscow form guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-W
FC Rostov form guide (all competitions): L-W-L-W-L
Spartak Moscow vs FC Rostov Team News
Spartak Moscow
The Gladiatory have a few injury concerns for this game with Pavel Maslov, Ezequiel Ponce, Nail Umyarov and Georgi Melkadze all ruled out.
Maximiliano Caufriez picked up two yellow cards in the loss against Zenit and is suspended for this game.
Injured: Pavel Maslov, Georgi Melkadze, Ezequiel Ponce, Nail Umyarov
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Maximiliano Caufriez
FC Rostov
Vladimir Obukhov is currently on a six-month suspension on account of doping. Pavel Mamayev has not featured in the last three games for the club across all competitions and is a doubt for this encounter.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Pavel Mamayev
Suspended: Vladimir Obukhov
Spartak Moscow vs FC Rostov Predicted XI
Spartak Moscow Predicted XI (3-4-3): Aleksandr Maksimenko; Nikolay Rasskazov, Samuel Gigot, Georgiy Dzhikiya; Victor Moses, Roman Zobnin, Ruslan Litvinov, Ayrton Lucas; Jordan Larsson, Zelimkhan Bakaev, Quincy Promes
Rostov Predicted XI (3-5-2): Sergei Pesyakov; Bastos, Maksim Osipenko, Dennis Hadzikadunic; Denis Terentyev, Kirill Folmer, Armin Gigovic, Danil Glebov, Nikolai Poyarkov; Dmitriy Poloz, Pontus Almqvist
Spartak Moscow vs FC Rostov Prediction
The hosts have conceded 13 goals in their last three games so keeping a tight ship at the back will be their main focus for the game. Rostov have fared well in recent games but suffered a 2-0 loss in the Russian Cup in midweek.
A stalemate looks likely to be the outcome when the two sides meet on Saturday.
Prediction: Spartak Moscow 2-2 FC Rostov
