2018–19 Russian Premier League

Russian Premier League
Season2018–19
ChampionsZenit Saint Petersburg
6th title
RelegatedAnzhi
Yenisey
Champions LeagueZenit Saint Petersburg
Lokomotiv Moscow
Krasnodar
Europa LeagueCSKA Moscow
Spartak Moscow
Arsenal
Matches played240
Goals scored542 (2.26 per match)
Top goalscorerFyodor Chalov (15 goals)
Biggest home winCSKA Moscow 6–0 Krylia Sovetov
Biggest away winAnzhi 0–4 Krasnodar
Highest scoringZenit 5–3 Lokomotiv
Longest winning run5 matches:
Zenit (29 Jul–2 Sep)
Longest unbeaten run8 matches:
Zenit
(29 Jul–30 Sep)
Longest winless run9 matches:
Yenisey (27 Aug-present)
Longest losing run6 matches:
Anzhi (6 Aug–22 Sep)
Highest attendance61,500
Zenit 3–1 CSKA
(12 May 2019)
Lowest attendance1,285
Yenisey 0–0 Arsenal
(2 September 2018)
Total attendance4,036,196
Average attendance16,817

The 2018–19 Russian Premier League was the 27th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 17th under the current Russian Premier League name. Lokomotiv Moscow came into the season as the defending champions.

The new logo was presented on 24 July 2018, there was no title sponsor announced for the season.[1]

Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams will play in the 2018–19 season. After the 2017–18 season, Anzhi Makhachkala, Tosno and SKA-Khabarovsk were relegated to the 2018–19 Russian National Football League. They were replaced by three clubs from the 2017–18 Russian National Football League, Orenburg, Krylya Sovetov Samara, and Yenisey Krasnoyarsk. Orenburg and Krylya Sovetov returned after one season of absence while Yenisey make their debut in the Premier League.

On 13 June 2018, FC Amkar Perm announced that the Russian Football Union recalled their 2018–19 season license, making them ineligible for the Russian Premier League or Russian Football National League.[2] FC Anzhi Makhachkala, which was already licensed for the 2018–19 Premier League before losing in the 2017–18 relegation play-offs, was eligible to stay in the league ahead of the other relegation play-off losing club, FC Tambov. Anzhi re-applied for the Premier League membership on 15 June and was officially re-admitted into the Premier League on 22 June.[3][4]

Venues

Zenit Saint Petersburg Rubin Kazan Rostov Krylia Sovetov Samara
Krestovsky Stadium Kazan Arena Rostov Arena Cosmos Arena
Capacity: 67,800 Capacity: 45,093 Capacity: 45,000 Capacity: 44,918
Spartak Moscow
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Locations of teams in 2018–19 Russian Premier League
Map of Russia with the teams of the 2018–19 Premier League
Moscow
Moscow
Yenisey
class=notpageimage|
Locations of teams in 2018–19 Russian Premier League
 Ural Yekaterinburg
Otkritie Arena Central Stadium
Capacity: 44,307 Capacity: 35,696
Krasnodar Akhmat Grozny
Krasnodar Stadium Akhmat-Arena
Capacity: 34,291 Capacity: 30,597
CSKA Moscow Lokomotiv Moscow
VEB Arena RZD Arena
Capacity: 30,457 Capacity: 27,320
Anzhi Makhachkala Yenisey Krasnoyarsk
Anzhi Arena Central Stadium
Capacity: 26,500 Capacity: 22,500
Arsenal Tula Dynamo Moscow Ufa Orenburg
Arsenal Stadium Arena Khimki Neftyanik Stadium Gazovik Stadium
Capacity: 20,048 Capacity: 18,636 Capacity: 15,132 Capacity: 7,520

Personnel and kits

Team Location Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Akhmat Grozny Tajikistan Rashid Rakhimov Russia Rizvan Utsiyev Germany Adidas Akhmat Foundation
Anzhi Makhachkala Russia Magomed Adiyev Russia Guram Tetrashvili Germany Jako
Arsenal Tula Tajikistan Igor Cherevchenko Russia Kirill Kombarov Germany Adidas SPLAV
CSKA Moscow Belarus Viktor Goncharenko Russia Igor Akinfeev England Umbro Rosseti
Dynamo Moscow Russia Dmitri Khokhlov Russia Anton Shunin United States Nike VTB
Krasnodar Krasnodar Russia Murad Musayev Belarus Alyaksandr Martynovich Germany Puma Constell Group
Krylia Sovetov Samara Montenegro Miodrag Božović Russia Yevgeni Konyukhov Germany Puma Parimatch
Lokomotiv Moscow Russia Yuri Semin Russia Igor Denisov United States Under Armour RZhD
Orenburg Orenburg Russia Vladimir Fedotov Russia Dmitri Andreyev Germany Adidas Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg
Rostov Rostov-on-Don Russia Valeri Karpin Moldova Alexandru Gațcan Spain Joma TNS Energo
Rubin Kazan Turkmenistan Kurban Berdyev Spain César Navas Germany Jako Nizhnekamskneftekhim
Spartak Moscow Russia Oleg Kononov Russia Denis Glushakov United States Nike Lukoil
Ufa Ufa Russia Vadim Evseev Russia Pavel Alikin Spain Joma Terra Bashkiria
Ural Yekaterinburg Ukraine Dmytro Parfenov Russia Artyom Fidler Spain Joma Renova, TMK
Yenisey Krasnoyarsk Russia Dmitri Alenichev Russia David Yurchenko United States Nike HOK
Zenit Saint Petersburg Russia Sergei Semak Russia Aleksandr Anyukov United States Nike Gazprom

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment
Zenit Italy Roberto Mancini Mutual consent 13 May 2018[5] pre-season Russia Sergei Semak 29 May 2018[6]
Ural Russia Aleksandr Tarkhanov Moved to the advisor position 21 May 2018[7] Ukraine Dmytro Parfenov 21 May 2018
Arsenal Montenegro Miodrag Božović Contract expired 21 May 2018[8] Russia Oleg Kononov 1 June 2018[9]
Ufa Russia Sergei Semak Mutual consent 29 May 2018[10] Russia Sergei Tomarov 13 June 2018[11]
Anzhi Belarus Vadim Skripchenko Contract expired 31 May 2018[12] Russia Magomed Adiyev 4 June 2018[13]
Akhmat Russia Igor Lediakhov Resigned 2 September 2018[14] 10th Azerbaijan Ruslan İdiqov (caretaker) 2 September 2018
Akhmat Azerbaijan Ruslan İdiqov (caretaker) Caretaking spell over 5 September 2018 10th Tajikistan Rashid Rakhimov 5 September 2018[15]
Krylia Sovetov Russia Andrey Tikhonov Fired 5 October 2018[16] 15th Montenegro Miodrag Božović 5 October 2018[17]
Spartak Moscow Italy Massimo Carrera Fired 23 October 2018[18] 6th Spain Raúl Riancho (caretaker) 23 October 2018[18]
Ufa Russia Sergei Tomarov Resigned 7 November 2018[19] 15th Russia Dmitri Kirichenko 7 November 2018
Spartak Moscow Spain Raúl Riancho Caretaking spell over 12 November 2018 9th Russia Oleg Kononov 12 November 2018[20]
Arsenal Tula Russia Oleg Kononov Mutual consent 12 November 2018[21] 11th Tajikistan Igor Cherevchenko 13 November 2018[22]
Ufa Russia Dmitri Kirichenko Mutual consent 27 March 2019[23] 15th Russia Vadim Evseev 27 March 2019[24]

Tournament format and regulations

Basic

The 16 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches will be played, with 30 matches played by each team.

Promotion and relegation

The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2019–20 season.

The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL teams respectively in two playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2019–20 season.

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Zenit Saint Petersburg (C) 30 20 4 6 57 29 +28 64 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Lokomotiv Moscow 30 16 8 6 45 28 +17 56[a]
3 Krasnodar 30 16 8 6 55 23 +32 56[a] Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 CSKA Moscow 30 14 9 7 46 23 +23 51 Qualification for the Europa League group stage[b]
5 Spartak Moscow 30 14 7 9 36 31 +5 49 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b]
6 Arsenal Tula 30 12 10 8 40 33 +7 46 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[b]
7 Orenburg 30 12 7 11 39 34 +5 43
8 Akhmat Grozny 30 11 9 10 29 30 −1 42
9 Rostov 30 10 11 9 25 23 +2 41
10 Ural Yekaterinburg 30 10 8 12 33 45 −12 38
11 Rubin Kazan 30 7 15 8 24 30 −6 36
12 Dynamo Moscow 30 6 15 9 28 28 0 33
13 Krylia Sovetov Samara (O) 30 8 4 18 25 46 −21 28 Qualification for the Relegation play-offs
14 Ufa (O) 30 5 11 14 24 34 −10 26
15 Anzhi Makhachkala (R) 30 5 6 19 13 50 −37 21 Relegation to Football National League
16 Yenisey Krasnoyarsk (R) 30 4 8 18 24 55 −31 20
Updated to match(es) played on 26 May 2019. Source: Russian Premier League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head matches won; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head away goals; 7) Matches won; 8) Goal difference; 9) Goals scored; 10) Away goals scored; 11) Play-off.[25]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head away goals: Lokomotiv 1, Krasnodar 0.
  2. ^ a b c Lokomotiv Moscow won the 2018–19 Russian Cup. As they already qualified for the Champions League, the Europa League group stage spot (originally designated for the Cup winner) goes to the fourth-placed team, third qualifying round spot goes to fifth-placed team and second qualifying round spot goes to sixth-placed team.

Relegation play-offs

The draw for relegation play-offs scheduling took place on 16 May 2019.[26] The referees (including VAR teams) were appointed on 27 May 2019.[27]

First leg

Ufa2–0Tom Tomsk
Igboun 28'
Ediyev 80' (o.g.)		 Report
Attendance: 9,384
Nizhny Novgorod1–3Krylia Sovetov Samara
Fomin 23' (pen.) Report Fedoriv 65' (o.g.)
Zinkovsky 90+1' (pen.)
Shiskin 90+4'
Attendance: 21,800

Second leg

Tom Tomsk1–0Ufa
Gasilin 11' Report
Attendance: 6,210

FC Ufa won 2–1 on aggregate and retained their spot in the 2019–20 Russian Premier League; Tom Tomsk remained in the 2019–20 Russian National Football League.

Krylia Sovetov Samara0–1Nizhny Novgorod
Report Fomin 45' (pen.)
Attendance: 23,441

Krylia Sovetov won 3–2 on aggregate and retained their spot in the 2019–20 Russian Premier League; Nizhny Novgorod remained in the 2019–20 Russian National Football League.

Results

Home \ Away AKH ANZ ARS CSK DYN KRA KRY LOK ORE ROS RUB SPA UFA URA YEN ZEN
Akhmat Grozny — 0–0 2–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–3 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1
Anzhi Makhachkala 0–1 — 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–1
Arsenal Tula 3–1 2–0 — 2–0 0–0 0–3 4–0 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 4–2
CSKA Moscow 1–0 2–0 3–0 — 2–2 1–2 6–0 0–1 2–3 0–1 3–0 1–1 2–2 4–0 2–1 2–0
Dynamo Moscow 0–0 0–1 3–3 0–0 — 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 4–0 1–2 1–0
Krasnodar 0–1 5–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 — 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 2–3
Krylia Sovetov Samara 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–3 — 0–1 0–3 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–1 4–0 0–1
Lokomotiv Moscow 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 — 2–1 2–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–1
Orenburg 1–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 — 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–0 1–2
Rostov 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 — 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 4–0 1–0
Rubin Kazan 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–2 — 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1
Spartak Moscow 1–2 1–0 2–3 0–2 2–1 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 — 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–1
Ufa 0–1 3–0 1–2 0–3 1–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 — 4–1 2–1 0–2
Ural Yekaterinburg 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 — 3–2 0–1
Yenisey Krasnoyarsk 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–4 1–0 0–3 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 0–0 1–2 — 0–2
Zenit Saint Petersburg 1–0 5–0 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–1 4–2 5–3 3–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 2–1 4–1 4–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 May 2019. Source: Russian Premier League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Zenit St. Petersburg111111111111111111111111111111
Lokomotiv Moscow6111495810117743234555532422222222
Krasnodar1274565422222322222243233433333
CSKA Moscow71213786554636553333324344344554
Spartak Moscow452222345475697444455555555445
Arsenal Tula914710101211101312101012111110119997788666666
Orenburg1563344869888710871012121081076779987
Akhmat Grozny1381012139781099910810118888109109998798
Rostov525433233354445677766667887879
Ural Yekaterinburg141515151415141281012129768911111313111211101011111110
Rubin Kazan24889116765678699666798910111110101011
Dynamo Moscow1010126779911141111111212121210101212131312121212121212
Krylya Sovetov11139131210121315111313131313151313131111121113131313131313
Ufa836111114151514151414151414131415151515141414141414141414
Anzhi Makhachkala3911141616161412131515141515141514141414151515151515151515
Yenisey Krasnoyarsk161616161513131616161616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Updated to match(es) played on 26 May 2019. Source: soccerway.com

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Top goalscorers[28]
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Russia Fyodor Chalov CSKA Moscow 15
2 Iran Sardar Azmoun Rubin Kazan
Zenit St. Petersburg 		13
3 Sweden Viktor Claesson Krasnodar 12
4 Argentina Sebastián Driussi Zenit St. Petersburg 11
Russia Anton Miranchuk Lokomotiv Moscow
6 Cape Verde Zé Luís Spartak Moscow 10
7 Nigeria Sylvester Igboun Ufa 9
8 Russia Ari Krasnodar 8
Russia Zelimkhan Bakayev Arsenal Tula
Russia Artem Dzyuba Zenit St. Petersburg
Peru Jefferson Farfán Lokomotiv Moscow
Russia Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov Krasnodar
Russia Aleksei Sutormin Orenburg

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Zenit 612,093 61,467 40,463 47,084 +7.1%†
2 Spartak Moscow 438,584 44,486 20,015 31,327 +3.8%†
3 Rostov 395,883 41,097 21,850 30,452 +139.2%†
4 Krasnodar 343,102 34,652 12,313 24,507 −2.1%†
5 CSKA Moscow 226,984 29,361 9,013 18,915 +21.2%†
6 Krylya Sovetov 234,613 39,137 7,213 18,047 +127.2%1
7 Lokomotiv Moscow 194,988 26,892 7,218 14,999 +18.0%†
8 Ural Yekaterinburg 191,921 20,365 4,213 14,763 +81.9%†
9 Akhmat Grozny 113,962 16,342 1,850 10,360 −31.7%†
10 Rubin Kazan 132,894 26,531 3,282 10,222 +5.3%†
11 Arsenal Tula 136,757 15,646 7,869 9,768 −18.1%†
12 Ufa 106,075 10,926 3,187 7,576 +9.5%†
13 Yenisey Krasnoyarsk 90,443 14,915 1,285 7,536 +158.1%1
14 Dynamo Moscow 97,849 14,674 4,133 7,526 +10.8%†
15 Orenburg 62,766 7,083 2,453 4,828 +57.6%1
16 Anzhi Makhachkala 53,718 9,255 1,655 4,476 −29.9%†
League total 3,444,629 61,467 1,285 16,561 +18.7%†

Updated to games played on 29 April 2019
Source: [1]
Notes:
1: Team played last season in the Russian Football National League.

Awards

Top 33

On 26 June 2019, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:[29]

Other awards announced on the same day included:

Player of the year: Artem Dzyuba.

Hope prize (under-21 players): Matvei Safonov (Krasnodar).

Coach of the year: Sergei Semak (Zenit).

Team of the year: FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.

For contribution to football development: Stanislav Cherchesov.

See also

References

  1. ^ "New Season. New League" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 24 July 2018.
  2. ^ ""АМКАР" НЕ ПОЛУЧИЛ ЛИЦЕНЗИЮ РФС НА СЛЕДУЮЩИЙ СЕЗОН" (in Russian). FC Amkar Perm. 13 June 2018.
  3. ^ ""Анжи" подал документы для вступления в Премьер-Лигу" (in Russian). FC Anzhi Makhachkala. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Состоялось заседание Общего собрания клубов РФПЛ" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  5. ^ ""Зенит" и Роберто Манчини достигли соглашения о досрочном расторжении контракта" (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 13 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Сергей Семак назначен главным тренером "Зенита"" (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 29 May 2018.
  7. ^ "ГЛАВНЫМ ТРЕНЕРОМ "УРАЛА" НАЗНАЧЕН ДМИТРИЙ ПАРФЕНОВ" (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 21 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  8. ^ "СПАСИБО, МИОДРАГ!" (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 21 May 2018.
  9. ^ "ОЛЕГ КОНОНОВ, ДОБРО ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ В "АРСЕНАЛ"!" (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 1 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Спасибо, Сергей Богданович!" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Сергей Томаров - главный тренер ФК "УФА"" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 13 June 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. ^ ""Анжи" и Скрипченко завершили сотрудничество" (in Russian). FC Anzhi Makhachkala. 31 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Магомед Адиев – главный тренер "Анжи"" (in Russian). FC Anzhi Makhachkala. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Игорь Ледяхов подал в отставку" (in Russian). FC Akhmat Grozny. 2 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Рашид Рахимов – главный тренер ФК "Ахмат"" (in Russian). FC Akhmat Grozny. 5 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Андрей Тихонов покидает "Крылья Советов"" (in Russian). FC Krylia Sovetov Samara. 5 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Миодраг Божович представлен команде" (in Russian). FC Krylia Sovetov Samara. 5 October 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Spartak Moscow sack Massimo Carrera". Goal.com. 23 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Сергей Томаров покидает пост главного тренера" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  20. ^ "Олег Кононов — главный тренер "Спартака"" (in Russian). Spartak Moscow. 12 November 2018.
  21. ^ "ОЛЕГ КОНОНОВ ПОКИНУЛ "АРСЕНАЛ"" (in Russian). Arsenal Tula. 12 November 2018.
  22. ^ "ИГОРЬ ЧЕРЕВЧЕНКО ВОЗГЛАВИЛ "АРСЕНАЛ"" (in Russian). Arsenal Tula. 13 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Дмитрий Кириченко покидает пост главного тренера" (in Russian). Ufa. 27 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Вадим Евсеев – главный тренер ФК "Уфа"!" (in Russian). Ufa. 27 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Premier League 2018/2019 - Season rules" (PDF). rfpl.org. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Итоги жеребьевки стыковых матчей" [Relegation play-offs draw results] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 16 May 2019.
  27. ^ "Назначены арбитры стыковых матчей" [Referees for play-offs appointed] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 27 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Бомбардиры" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Лауреаты сезона и список "33-х лучших игроков"" [Season awards and Top 33] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 26 June 2019.

Notes