On April 16, the playoff matches of the national Cup ended, and the first pair will be between St. Petersburg's Zenit and Moscow's CSKA

The Russian Football Cup is an annual competition for Russian clubs, organized by the Russian Football Union. In addition to Zenit and CSKA, the semi-finals will feature games between Spartak and Dynamo Moscow, as well as Lokomotiv and Rostov.

In the 2024/2025 season, Zenit finishes the championship in third place in the WORLD RPL table, while their semi-final opponent is in fourth place, failing to make it into the top three. Despite this, CSKA is considered a strong opponent. Many experts call them the best team of the season, although Krasnodar remains the leader of the RPL. After a draw with Zenit, the army team won five games in a row: against Khimki (1:0), Akron (2:1), Makhachkala Dynamo (2:0), Moscow Dynamo (3:1) and Orenburg (2:0), finishing the winter part of the season on a positive note. In the spring, the team scored an impressive sixteen points, surpassing even the stable Krasnodar players with their thirteen points. The average indicator is 2.66 points per match, which suggests that with such a game throughout the season, they could have become absolute leaders. CSKA went into the winter break only in sixth place. Coach Nikolic is repeating his success with the army team, similar to what he had at Lokomotiv.

As for Zenit, they have collected 47 points in 23 games. It is difficult to predict the winner of the semi-finals: both teams are demonstrating a high level of play. Who will take to the field in the Russian Cup final in Luzhniki? We'll find out very soon. In the meantime, you can buy tickets buy tickets for the Russian Cup final in Luzhniki! Don't miss your chance to witness an exciting fight!