Match Preview

The 8th-round clash of the PARI First League (FNL) between Spartak Kostroma and Ural is set to take place on September 4th at the Urozhay Stadium. This article provides an in-depth match forecast, a strategic prediction, and comprehensive statistics for the Spartak Kostroma vs Ural encounter.

Spartak Kostroma: Current Form and Performance

Spartak Kostroma secured an away victory against Rotor in their previous fixture. Sergei Bondar’s squad boasts an impressive run of four consecutive league wins, with the last three all ending with an identical 2:1 scoreline. This successful streak has propelled the Kostroma side to 3rd place in the league standings. Notably, Spartak has consistently found the net in their last six FNL matches. Their defensive record is also solid, having conceded only 6 goals, a statistic bettered only by the top two teams, from whom Kostroma trails by merely two points.

Spartak Kostroma: Key Trends

• Spartak has conceded no more than one goal in 7 of their league matches.
• The Kostroma team is undefeated in their last 6 fixtures in this tournament (5 wins, 1 draw).
• Fewer than three goals were scored in 6 of their last 8 home matches across the First and Second Leagues.

Spartak Kostroma: Projected Starting XI (4-5-1)

Mikhail Gaidash – Nikita Supranovich, Denis Zhilmostnykh, Maxim Ignatiev, Nikolay Tarasov – Alexander Saplinov, Dmitry Sadov, Egor Nazarenko, Ivan Enin, Kirill Chursin – Maxim Chikanchi.

Ural: Current Form and Performance

The Yekaterinburg side climbed to the top of the league table after their convincing 2:0 victory over Fakel in the last round. Miroslav Romashchenko’s team has now secured six wins in the current championship (with only 1 defeat). Impressively, they have kept a clean sheet in 4 of these matches. However, in terms of the total number of clean sheets, Ural lags behind Voronezh (5). Nevertheless, Ural’s 14 goals scored represent the best offensive record in the league.

Ural: Key Trends

• Ural has scored at least two goals in 5 of their last 6 FNL matches.
• Away from home, the team has avoided defeat in 5 of their last 7 league games (3 wins, 2 draws).
• In 11 of their last 12 away matches in this tournament, the club has conceded no more than one goal.

Ural: Projected Starting XI (4-5-1)

Alexander Selikhov – Silvije Begic, Dmitry Prishchepa, Egor Mosin, Italo Assis – Timofey Margasov, Roman Akbashev, Fanil Sungatulin, Timur Ayupov, Ilya Ishkov – Martin Sekulic.

Referee Profile: Aleksandr Mashlyakevich

Aleksandr Mashlyakevich (Russia)

Matches officiated – 10 (First League, 2024/25 – 2025/26);

Yellow cards shown (including second yellow) – 42;

Average yellow cards per match – 4.2;

Red cards shown – 1;

Average fouls per match – 22;

Penalties awarded – 20%.

Expert Prediction: Spartak Kostroma vs Ural

The Kostroma team has only suffered one defeat in the current championship, which was against Fakel. Interestingly, Fakel was convincingly beaten by Ural in the previous round. Miroslav Romashchenko’s proteges are demonstrating excellent results, and their overall play appears quite strong. We anticipate that it will be the Yekaterinburg side who will bring Spartak’s impressive winning streak to an end. It’s crucial to note that while Sergei Bondar’s men have won all 4 of their away matches this season, they have only secured three points once at home, and that victory came courtesy of a 90th-minute goal.

Offensive Strategy and Defensive Breaching

Ural, boasting the most potent attack in the tournament, is expected to find ways to penetrate Kostroma’s defense. Spartak, in the FNL 2025/26 season, managed to keep a clean sheet only against Torpedo, a feat also achieved by four other opponents of the Moscow club. The Yekaterinburg team, on the other hand, has scored in 6 of their 7 games this season, netting at least twice in 5 of those instances.

My prediction: “Ural to avoid defeat and Total Over 1.5 goals” with odds of 2.03.

Author: Aleksey Tarabrin