The Russian Premier League jolts out of its winter hibernation Saturday, when leaders Zenit play second-placed CSKA Moscow in a clash that could go a long way to deciding the title race.
In the three months since Zenit went six points clear with a 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow, the league tossed and turned through the frenzy of transfer activity that saw the return of English Premier Leaguers Andrei Arshavin, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Roman Pavlyuchenko; sweated through the nightmare of FC Tom Tomsk's flirtation with bankruptcy; and awoke to the return of Guus Hiddink.
This one-off transitional season, which brings Russia's summer term into line with the winter leagues of Europe, resumes this weekend with the division's top eight and bottom eight fighting it out among themselves in playoffs.
In this 33rd round of matches, it is Saturday's clash at Luzhniki that boasts the most fascinating subplots, as CSKA and Zenit are transformed by season-defining transfers while both carry the distraction of Champions League campaigns.
CSKA seek to stop Zenit taking a commanding nine-point lead without long-serving Brazilian striker Vagner Love, who left for Flamengo last month, but bolstered by the arrival of tenacious Sweden midfielder Pontus Wernbloom and pacy Nigerian winger Ahmed Musa.
Zenit, meanwhile, will hope Arshavin, who rejoined the team last week on a six-month contract, can fill the creative void left by Portuguese forward Miguel Danny, who is out to October with a knee injury. Coach Luciano Spalletti also welcomes back Vyacheslav Malafeev from injury after the goalkeeper missed last month's 3-2 defeat of Benfica in the Champions League first leg knockout stage.
The Italian said he wouldn't rest any of his stars against CSKA for the second leg in Spain just three days later.
The Muscovites have an extra week's rest ahead of the second leg of their Champions League tie against Real Madrid. CSKA must turn score at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on March 14 to progress after a 1-1 draw in Moscow.
Elsewhere, seventh-placed Anzhi Makachkala start life with new coach Guus Hiddink with a tricky away match at Dynamo Moscow in third --Monday's most tantalizing game.
Since former Russia coach Hiddink joined Anzhi last month, the big-spending side have shown good form in friendly matches, and signed Blackburn Rovers centerback Christopher Samba for a reported 9 million pounds.
Dynamo are seven points off the lead, but a win over Anzhi could be the spark for a title challenge, striker Kevin Kuranyi insisted this week.
“Ideally, I want to get into the Champions League. Or even, never say never, fight for the title. It’s very important to start successfully,” he told Dynamo website.
Dynamo’s Hungarian midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak could make his debut against his former club after joining from Anzhi during the winter, and there could also be a start for highly-rated Ecuadorian midfielder Cristian Noboa, a new signing from Rubin Kazan.
Lokomotiv Moscow will host FC Kuban, pitting together two of the league most talked-about strikers in another Saturday match.
Russia international Pavlyuchenko joined Lokomotiv from Tottenham Hotspur in January, while Kuban striker Lacina Traore has won acclaim for his performances so far this season, bagging 15 goals to become the league’s third-top goalscorer.
Monday pits fifth-placed Rubin against Spartak, who are both chasing one of the three Champions League spots.
Spartak’s new signing Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, who joined from Everton in January, will be available, but Ireland winger Aiden McGeady is an injury doubt.
Towards the bottom of the Premier League table, FC Tom Tomsk have been rescued from financial collapse but are seven points from safety and face a difficult task away to 11th-placed Terek Grozny in the weekend’s first game. Tomsk came close to bankruptcy and saw an exodus of players before Russian oil giants Rosneft and Gazprom Neft stepped in with a cash injection at the urging of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Cash-strapped Volga Nizhny Novgorod will host Spartak Nalchik on Saturday, in a clash between two teams threatened with relegation, before FC Rostov travel to FC Krasnodar on Monday; while Amkar Perm, who had their bank accounts frozen amidst a bitter legal dispute between the club's officials past and present, host Krylya Sovetov Samara on Tuesday in the round’s final fixture.
