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Zenit St. Petersburg will welcome KAMAZ to the Gazprom Arena for a round-of-16 tie in the Russian Cup on Thursday.
The visitors secured their spot at this stage by virtue of finishing top of Group 2 in the group stage last year.
They have not been in competitive action since playing out a goalless draw away to Baltika in the Russian FNL in December 2021 but have kept themselves busy with friendlies ever since.
Zenit narrowly edged out Rubin Kazan in a five-goal thriller in the Russian Premier League on Monday. All five goals came after the break, with Ivan Sergeev scoring an injury-time winner to help his side secure a 3-2 victory on home turf.
Zenit vs KAMAZ Head-to-Head
This will be the second time that both sides have been paired in the Russian Cup and they will each look to secure progress to the quarterfinals.
They were also paired with one another in the round of 32 of the 2002-03 Russian Cup. Zenit secured progress by winning both legs with an 8-2 aggregate victory.
The hosts have returned to winning ways in the league after failing to win any of their two-legged ties with Real Betis in the UEFA Europa League. KAMAZ have bounced back with a three-game unbeaten streak in friendlies, having initially lost three matches on the spin.
Zenit form guide (all competitions): W-D-L-W-W
Kamaz form guide (friendlies): W-D-W-L-L
Zenit vs KAMAZ Team News
Zenit
Dejan Lovren (ankle) and Stanislav Kritsyuk (knee) are both unavailable due to injuries. Ukrainian defender Yaroslav Rakitsky is unavailable due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and his country.
KAMAZ
Goalkeeper Oleg Baklov is the only known injury concern for the visitors.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Zenit vs KAMAZ Predicted XI
Zenit Predicted XI (4-3-3): Daniil Odoevskiy (GK); Douglas Santos, Dmitri Chistyakov, Danil Krugovoy, Vyacheslav Karavaev; Wilmar Barrios, Wendel, Claudinho; Yuri Alberto, Artem Dzyuba, Malcom
KAMAZ Predicted XI (4-3-3): Oleg Baklov (GK); Aleksandr Kulikov, Chingiz Magomadov, Sergey Morozov, Astemir Abazov; Vladislav Ignatenko, Oleg Kalugin, Yuri Kirillov; Ruslan Ayukin, Evgeni Voronin, Roman Yanushkovskiy
Zenit vs KAMAZ Prediction
Zenit are overwhelming favorites and have vastly superior players compared to their visitors. The vast difference in quality between the two sides, coupled with home advantage, means the Russian champions are expected to win easily.
We are backing Sergei Semak's side to secure a comfortable victory in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: Zenit 3-0 KAMAZ
