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Russian Premier League action resumes this weekend, with last-placed Ural taking on league leaders Zenit Saint Petersburg at Central Stadium in Yekaterinburg on Sunday.
The hosts have just two wins to their name in the 2021-22 campaign and have dropped points in their last three fixtures. They were held to a goalless draw at Khimki in their previous league outing last Sunday.
Zenit have recovered well from their two back-to-back losses and have recorded two wins on the spin. They humbled Spartak Moscow 7-1 and a week later overcame Dynamo Moscow 4-1. They suffered a 4-2 loss in their midweek UEFA Champions League clash against Juventus.
Ural vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Head-to-Head
The two sides have locked horns 21 times across all competitions. As one would expect, Zenit have the upper hand in this fixture, recording 18 wins. The hosts are winless against the Russian giants with three games ending in draws.
Zenit have scored 21 goals in their last six outings against The Bumblebees while letting in just five goals. They last squared off in league action in December last year at Gazprom Arena, with Zenit recording a thumping 5-1 win.
Ural form guide (all competitions): L-W-W-L-L
Zenit Saint Petersburg form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-D
Ural vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Team News
Ural
Roman Emeljanov remains on the sidelines with a back injury and is the only major injury concern for the game. Vladimir Rykov has featured only once this term and his participation is in doubt for the game.
Injured: Roman Yemelyanov
Doubtful: Vladimir Rykov
Suspended: None
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Daler Kuzyaev, Douglas Santos and Magomed Ozdoev remain on the sidelines with injuries, so there are no new injury concerns here. Malcolm returned to the squad for the Champions League game against Juventus and is available for this weekend's game.
Injured: Daler Kuzyaev, Douglas Santos, Magomed Ozdoev
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Ural vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Predicted XI
Ural Predicted XI (5-4-1): Ilya Pomazun; Denys Kulakov, Artyom Mamin, Ivan Kuzmichyov, Rafał Augustyniak, Leo Goglichidze; Andrei Yegorychev, Luka Gagnidze, Kirill Kolesnichenko, Branko Jovičić; Eric Bicfalvi
Zenit Saint Petersburg Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Stanislav Kritsyuk; Dmitri Chistyakov, Dejan Lovren, Yaroslav Rakitskiy; Aleksey Sutormin, Douglas Santos, Andrie Mostvoy, Wendel; Claudinho, Malcolm; Artem Dzyuba
Ural vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Prediction
Ural are winless against Zenit across all competitions so far and have scored just five goals this campaign compared to 34 scored by the dominant visitors. The game should end in a routine win for Zenit and the odds of a clean sheet also look good as Ural haven't found the back of the net in their last four games across all competitions.
Prediction: Ural 0-3 Zenit Saint Petersburg
