The Matchday 8 clash in the Russian Premier League between Rostov and CSKA will take place on September 14 at the Rostov Arena. Rostov vs. CSKA: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Rostov
In the last round, Jonathan Alba's side shared the points at home with Akhmat (1-1). Rostov has only one victory in the current championship (2 draws, 4 losses), and they have managed to keep a clean sheet only in that win. Moreover, the club has conceded in 11 of their last 12 RPL matches. In the standings, Rostov is in 14th place, and they have the fourth-lowest goal tally, with just 7 goals scored.
- Rostov has conceded first in 5 of their last 6 Premier League matches.
- At home, the team has not won in 7 of their last 8 league matches (3 draws, 4 losses).
- In 11 of their last 12 RPL encounters, the club has not scored more than one goal.
Predicted lineup for Rostov (4-4-2)
Rustam Yatimov – Dmitry Chistyakov, Viktor Melekhin, Ilya Vakhania, Andrey Langovich – Konstantin Kuchaev, Alexey Mironov, Kirill Schetinin, Mohammad Mohebi – Ronaldo, Timur Suleymanov.
Defenders Eyad El-Askalan, Umar Sako, and forward Ivan Komarov are injured.
CSKA
In the last round, the Army Men drew 1-1 at home with Krasnodar. The team is yet to taste defeat this season (4 wins, 3 draws), marking their longest unbeaten start since the 2016/17 season. However, note that CSKA has conceded in 6 consecutive RPL matches, with only Sochi having fewer clean sheets. In the main standings, the Moscow club is in 2nd place.
- Both teams scored in CSKA's last 6 Premier League matches.
- In 4 of their last 5 away matches in the league, the Moscow side has drawn.
- In 6 of their last 8 away games in this tournament, the team has scored exactly 1 or 2 goals.
Predicted lineup for CSKA (4-5-1)
Igor Akinfeev – Moises Barbosa, Igor Diveev, Milan Gajic, Joao Victor – Daniel Ruiz, Matvey Kislyak, Ivan Oblyakov, Danil Krugovoy, Mateus Alves – Artem Shumansky.
Midfielder Rodrigo Villagra has recovered from injury. However, forward Kirill Glebov is unavailable due to injury. Midfielder Matija Popovic and forwards Enrique Carmo and Gleb Popolitov have joined the squad.
Referee
Sergey Karasev (Russia)
Matches – 19 (RPL, 2024/25 - 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 83;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.4;
Red cards shown – 7;
Average fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 32%.
Rostov vs. CSKA: Match Prediction
The opponents last met in the final of the previous Russian Cup. In that encounter, no goals were scored, and CSKA ultimately claimed the trophy. I believe the Army Men will achieve a positive outcome in the upcoming match, but in terms of scoring, it will be much livelier.
The Moscow club has gone seven rounds in the current championship without a loss. Moreover, the team is unbeaten in 21 consecutive Premier League matches (13 wins, 8 draws). In the RPL, the Moscow side ranks in the top 3 for scoring, but Fabio Celestini's men have only kept a clean sheet in the first round. Notably, in terms of xGA, the Army Men look even worse than their closest opponent.
A victory over relegation-battling Paris NN is Rostov's only win in their last 12 league matches (5 draws, 6 losses). During this stretch, they managed to "dry up" only Nizhny Novgorod. However, Rostov has conceded 10 goals in their last 5 head-to-head RPL encounters with CSKA. The club generally struggles against CSKA, failing to win in 9 of their last 10 Premier League meetings.
My prediction: CSKA will not lose and Total Over 1.5 goals
