Moscow "Lokomotiv" in the match of the 2nd round of the Europa League 2017-2018 at the home stadium "Lokomotiv" (aka "RZD Arena"), which seats almost 29 thousand spectators, will host the Czech team "Fastav" from the city of Zlin. This game will take place on Thursday, September 28, and will begin at 22:05 local (Moscow time). Let us add that after the opening round in Group F, where Lokomotiv and Fastav play, all four clubs have one point each.
“Lokomotiv” – “Fastav”: where to watch?
Match TV will broadcast live football from the Lokomotiv stadium. The start time of the live broadcast of the game “Lokomotiv” - “Fastav” is ten o’clock in the evening Moscow time. Welsh referee Simon Lee Evans will judge the Russian and Czech football players.
“Lokomotiv” – “Fastav”: forecast
Experts consider the “railroad workers” to be the clear favorites of this meeting, even despite the fact that Yuri Semin’s Lokomotiv is not playing very consistently this season, especially against teams from the bottom of the table. However, Lokomotiv is one of the leaders of the Russian Premier League, and also has solid experience in playing in Eurocups. “Fastav”, playing on the road, clearly lacks such experience.
Lokomotiv vs Fastav: lineups
Lokomotiv coach Yuri Semin will not be able to count on the help of his two leading players - defender Vedran Corluka and striker Ari are injured. Semin prefers a 3-5-2 formation - with shuttles on the flanks, whose role will apparently be played by Maciej Rybus (left) and Vladislav Ignatiev (right). Marinato Guilherme will take his place in goal, while the trio of central defenders will be Nemanja Pejcinovic, Solomon Kverkvelia and Taras Mihalik.
Dmitry Tarasov, Manuel Fernandes and Igor Denisov will play in the center of the field, and Jefferson Farfan and Alexey Miranchuk will play in the attack.
Meanwhile, Fastav head coach Bohumil Panik prefers the 4-4-2 formation. The optimal composition of the Czech team is as follows. Goalkeeper – Stanislav Dostal. Back four (from left to right): Daniel Holzer, Zoran Gajic, Ondrej Bacho and Robert Mateev. The outside midfielders are Vukadin Vukadinovic (left) and Ubong Moses (right), the central midfielders are Petr Jiracek and Ibrahim Traore. The forward forward is Lukasz Zeleznik, and the forward forward is Mirzad Mehanovic.
What awaits Russian clubs in the next European Cup season? Let's talk.
The European national championships are coming to an end. Not only the majority of the clubs that will take part in the 2017/18 European Cup season are already known, but also the stages from which they will start, and even their seeding.
In Russia, four out of five European Cup participants have been determined: Spartak, Lokomotiv, CSKA and Zenit. Although the last two could theoretically still finish outside the top four. The fight for the fifth spot will unfold between Krasnodar and Rostov.
Let's imagine that all national championships have already ended. What awaits Russian clubs in a couple of months?
"Spartacus"
Start: Champions League group stageAccording to the new regulations, the champions of countries occupying places from first to seventh in the UEFA coefficient table automatically fall into the first pot. Last season, Russia, which determined the representation of countries in the 2017/18 competition, finished seventh. If earlier “Spartak” with its low rating would have settled in the fourth basket, now it will be in the first.
Here's what the baskets look like today.
* There are four clubs left in the Europa League, with Manchester United having the highest odds – 91.078.
CSKA's seeding in the first pot hasn't really helped this season. It may not help Spartak either: in the second eight there are only giants, and from the fourth you can get a gift in the form of German clubs, with which ours - and especially Spartak - have historically played unsuccessfully.
Zenit will be in the third pot if they overcome the qualifications.
"Zenith"
Start: third qualifying round of the Champions LeagueAt the moment, Zenit is among the seeded clubs in both the third and fourth qualifying rounds.
If CSKA finishes in second place, then in the fourth qualifying round it will be among the unseeded clubs. It will be difficult to repeat the achievement of Rostov, which made it into the group with a low coefficient.
"Locomotive"
Start: Europa League group stageDue to the low odds, Lokomotiv only ends up in the third basket. However, there is a possibility that it will rise higher – clubs with higher ratings may be eliminated in qualifying.
CSKA and Krasnodar will be in the second pot if they pass the qualifications.
CSKA and Krasnodar
Start: third qualifying round of the Europa LeagueOur clubs will be seeded in both qualifying rounds. We will not give a list of all possible opponents. First of all, there are a lot of them. Secondly, the names of half of them are unknown to many. It is clear that both clubs must advance to the group stage.
There are only a few rounds left in the European championships. Therefore, there should be no major changes in the layouts. We will return to this topic at the end of May.
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Lokomotiv's matches in 2018 will attract enormous attention from the football community. No wonder. After all, the “railroad workers” are the winners of the Russian Championship 2017/18 in less than five minutes! Will Yuri Semin's team be able to maintain their advantage until the last round? We follow the games of Muscovites. Everything will be decided in the spring games of the second half of the 26th edition of the RFPL championship!
Lokomotiv match schedule for the 2017–2018 season
The red-greens expect football battles on two fronts: the Russian Championship and the Europa League. The year 2018 will begin for “railroad workers” on February 15. The capital club will meet with the French “Nice” in the 1/16 Europa League 2017/18.
The last official match between the red and green teams will take place on May 13. Muscovites will compete head-to-head with Arsenal Tula during the current Russian National Championship.
This is what the full calendar of games for the capital club looks like in the second part of the season:
- 02/15/2018: “Nice” – “Lokomotiv” (1/16 LE);
- 02/22/2018: Lokomotiv – Nice (1/16 LE);
- 03/04/2018: Lokomotiv - Spartak;
- 03/11/2018: Tosno – Lokomotiv;
- 03/18/2018: Lokomotiv – Akhmat;
- 04/01/2018: Amkar – Lokomotiv;
- 04/08/2018: Lokomotiv – Rostov;
- 04/15/2018: Dynamo – Lokomotiv;
- 04/22/2018: Lokomotiv – Ufa;
- 04/29/2018: Lokomotiv – Krasnodar;
- 05/06/2018: Lokomotiv – Zenit;
- 05/13/2018: Arsenal – Lokomotiv.
Schedule of Lokomotiv matches in the Europa League 2017 – 2018
In the 1/16, the rival of the capital's PFC will be the French Nice. Football battles between the two teams will take place on February 15 and 22, 2018.
"Nice" is a club of the highest French national championship. The Eaglets are considered one of the most unyielding teams in League 1. The team has been progressing in recent years. This is largely due to the arrival of such stars as Wesley Sneijder and Mario Balotelli to the team. Therefore, it is not without reason that experts give preference to the French in the upcoming 1/16 LE games.
However, the golden times of the “Eaglets” are left behind. Les Aiglons shone in the middle of the last century. It was during this period that most of their victories occurred. Currently, the FC of the main resort city of the Fifth Republic does not have outstanding results. By the standards of League 1, this is a strong middling team.
The red-greens have never met this French team. Much for Yuri Semin’s players will depend on the first meeting, which will take place away. If it ends with a score acceptable for the Russian team, the Muscovites will have a real chance to beat the French.
Matches of FC Lokomotiv in the RFPL championship 2017/18
At the beginning of the season, no one believed in Loko except the coach and fans. However, the “locomotive” did not go off the rails, as numerous experts of all stripes had predicted. During the first round of the Czech Republic, Semin's team confidently dealt with Zenit, Spartak and CSKA - the main contenders for the championship. An excellent game allowed the Muscovites to single-handedly lead the standings. Yuri Semin's team went into the winter break with a 14-point handicap!
In the remaining rounds of the championship, it is important for the red-greens not to lose their advantage. Especially the Russian Railways club needs to pay close attention to the matches against Spartak and Zenit. The St. Petersburg and red-whites still hope to get gold medals. Therefore, the “railroad workers” will face tough fights.
" will complete the first part of the European season with a match with the Czech " ", in which the railway workers can secure participation in the playoffs of the tournament.
This autumn has become a real holiday for Lokomotiv fans. The capital's club is confidently performing in the national championship, having already guaranteed itself the title of "winter champion": the railway workers' lead over St. Petersburg's Zenit before the final round before the pause is six points, despite the fact that in the 20th round the team will face the modest Tosno.
However, in the Europa League, things are not going as smoothly as we would like for the Muscovites. Lokomotiv became the only Russian club that, by the final round of the group stage, did not guarantee itself participation in the spring stage of European competition. But Yuri Semin and his team have a significant advantage: the third Danish “Copenhagen” plays with the leader of the group, the Moldavian “Sheriff”, who also failed to secure early access to the playoffs, but “Lokomotiv” will come to visit a completely unmotivated the modest Czech “Zlin”, which the Russian club simply must beat.
At the same time, “Lokomotiv” does not necessarily have to defeat “Zlin”: in certain situations, in another match, the group of railway workers could be satisfied not only with a draw, but also with a defeat (if “Copenhagen” cannot defeat “Sheriff”).
"There are no easy victories. Zlín is the winner of the Czech Cup, which fights in every match. To achieve a result, concentration is needed. The first part of the season is coming to an end. The final matches are of particular importance. Zlín is strong with its fans, football players Well prepared physically. Some players are very strong individually."
In the first match with the Czechs in Cherkizovo, the hosts left no stone unturned against Zlin, deciding the outcome of the match by the 17th minute (). Even representatives of “Zlin” hinted before the match that the difference in the class of the teams was significant, and the meeting showed this quite clearly: after three goals, “Lokomotiv” simply finished the match, preparing for the derby with Dynamo Moscow.
“We need to beat Zlin. We don’t even think about any other scenarios. As for the first match, we scored an early goal, which allowed us to feel more relaxed,” said Lokomotiv midfielder Anton Miranchuk.
Lokomotiv's Peruvian discovery Jefferson Farfan is in crazy form, scoring eight goals in his last eight matches, including two caps for the national team. Lokomotiv has Taras Mikhalik in the hospital, who is out until the end of the year, but midfielder Vladislav Ignatiev, who missed the last match in the Russian Championship due to injury, went with the team to the Czech Republic. In general, Lokomotiv is the undisputed favorite in the fight for reaching the playoffs; it remains to be seen on Thursday.
