- CSKA form: CSKA have won 2, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- Baltika form: Baltika have won 2, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their last 10 in all competitions.
- Observation: CSKA's current record is inconsistent with the idea that they dominate the opposition, and vice versa.
Battling against the odds
CSKA are 2.02 favourites to beat FK Baltika Kaliningrad at VEB Arena, with the visitors available at 3.92 and the draw at 3.52. We are going for the draw in this matchup, but it looks as though both clubs will be battling against the line for under 2.5 goals.
Dmitriy Igdisamov is taking a while to stamp his authority on CSKA, but they do appear to be more organised than all-out chaos since Igdisamov took charge on 5 May 2026. The hosts have won two, drawn one and lost two of their five matches since then, which included a 3-1 home win over Lokomotiv and a 1-1 draw with Shinnik.
They are pressing, transitioning and getting forward as a unit, but there is an underlying structure to this team that is just not apparent when Vladimir Fedotov's side were strolling along towards relegation.
Baltika are a difficult to beat
Tactics:
Baltika are a different kind of tough team to deal with, as Andrey Talalayev has made them into a well-oiled machine in the sense that they are a compact unit that are hard to break down and extremely dangerous on the break.
Recent form:
The visitors will sit back, defend deep and rely on fast wide deliveries to cause havoc on the counter. They have one win and four defeats from their last five matches, coming into this game on the back of a 0-2 home loss to Dynamo Moscow, so they are by no means on a roll.
Away record:
That said, the Kaliningrad-based side have been stubborn on the road, drawing three and losing one from four in all competitions, and although they have conceded six goals on their travels they may not have to score to gain something from this matchup.
Betting notes:
- Danila Kozlov is CSKA's cutting edge, scoring two of their five goals in the last five games, and they are just about the more likely of the two to nick it, but the odds and form both say it will be tight.
- Under 2.5 goals at 1.75 fits the script, but both teams to score No at 1.82 is the preference for this Premier League 2026-2027 clash.
