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FC Ufa host Zenit Saint Petersburg at the Neftyanik Stadium in Russian Premier League action on Saturday.
Zenit were crowned the Russian champions for the third time in a row when they humbled Lokomotiv Moscow 6-1 at home in their previous outing.
With their 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow last time around, the hosts stayed in the relegation zone. With just two games left to play, if they do not get favorable results here, they will be relegated.
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FC Ufa vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Head-to-Head
Ufa have faced Zenit 13 times in league fixtures. As expected, the visitors have enjoyed the upper hand in the fixture and have eight wins to their name.
The hosts have managed to get the better of The Zeniters just once, with that win coming in 2019 at Saturday's venue. The spoils have been shared four times between these two sides.
In their last meeting, which was a league fixture back in September, Zenit thrashed Ufa 6-0 at the Gazprom Arena.
FC Ufa form guide across all competitions: D-L-W-W-L
Zenit Saint Petersburg form guide in Russian Premier League: W-W-D-W-W
FC Ufa vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Team News
FC Ufa
Oleg Dzantiev is not expected to start in this fixture. He is reported to have recently undergone knee surgery. Aleksandr Sukhov is recovering from a hip injury and is expected to sit this one out as well.
Defender Moritz Bauer has missed the last two games on account of food poisoning but could return here. Bojan Jokić will return from a one-game suspension.
Injured: Oleg Dzantiev, Aleksandr Sukhov, Moritz Bauer
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Zenit Saint Petersburg
The visitors won't be able to count upon the services of Dejan Lovren, who has been ruled out in recent weeks due to a muscle injury.
Injury: Dejan Lovren
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
FC Ufa vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Predicted XI
FC Ufa Predicted XI (5-3-2): Aleksei Chernov; Moritz Bauer, Jemal Tabitze, Pavel Alikin, Grigori Morozov, Artyom Golubev; Oleg Ivanov, Filip Mrzljak, Vladislav Kamilov; Vyacheslav Krotov, Timur Zhamaletdinov
Zenit Predicted XI (4-4-2): Andrey Lunev (GK); Douglas Santos, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Dmitriy Chistyakov, Aleksei Sutormin; Wendel, Wilmar Barrios, Andrey Mostovoy, Malcom; Artem Dyzuba, Sardar Azmoun
FC Ufa vs Zenit Saint Petersburg Prediction
The hosts have dropped points after two straight wins in the league. They have the second-worst goalscoring record in the league and could struggle against Zenit, who have scored six goals in their last two games.
Though the visitors have already won the league title, we don't expect them to resort to complacency in this fixture. We predict a third win on the spin for Zenit.
Prediction: FC Ufa 1-3 Zenit Saint Petersburg.
