Total below 2.5
Total below 2.5
In an effort to maintain a place in Russia’s elite division, Khimki significantly updated their roster during the winter transfer window. Nevertheless, it did not earn the club any tournament dividends. After resuming the competition, they suffered 4 consecutive defeats and two draws. The defeat against Krasnodar (0:6) became the catalyst for the change of coach. Andrei Talalayev took the place of the dismissed Spartak Gognev. Under his leadership, the “red and black” held 1 meeting, where they shared points with the “Wings of the Soviets”.
“Torpedo” over the distance of 23 match days managed to score only 13 points and deservedly dropped to the bottom of the table. In terms of the expected number of goals scored (xg = 0.68) and conceded (xga = 1.94), the club occupies the last and penultimate place in the RPL, respectively.
It is worth noting that in the last three rounds, the new coach Josep Clotet is in charge of Avtozavodtsy. Under his leadership, the team started to work with extraordinary concentration in the last period and do not leave the pitch without scoring a goal. Even in the match against Spartak (1:2) Torpedo managed to find its moment at the opponent’s goal.
Both teams still have a chance to fight for the playoffs. I think in this game the burden of responsibility for the error will shift to the opponents, which will lead to simpler football without too much risk.