- Team form: Spartak Kostroma have won 7 of their 16 away games in the FNL 2025/2026, scoring 25 goals.
- Home form: Sokol Saratov have won 2, drawn 6 and lost 8 of their 16 home matches in the FNL 2025/2026.
- Odds: Spartak Kostroma is priced at 1.84 to win this Sunday’s away match.
FNL leaders visit struggling Sokol
Spartak Kostroma travel to the Volga region to take on relegation-threatened FK Sokol Saratov in a key game at both ends of the FNL 2025/2026 this Sunday. Kostroma are flying high in 6th spot with 48 points from 32 matches, while their hosts are 18th with 22 points from the same number of games.
The home side have won two and lost three of their last five FNL matches, but there have been signs of improvement in recent weeks that include back-to-back away victories. Kostroma, who won this fixture 2-1 when they met at home seven months ago, have been less consistent with two wins, a draw and two losses in their last five, but the favourites have the momentum and talent to come away with all three points.
Evgeniy Kharlachev’s side have looked more solid and structured since he took charge in March 2026 and there has been an increase in discipline and focus to their game. They have become a hardworking, compact unit that look to limit mistakes and grind out results - but they lack the firepower to break opponents down in the same way as some of the FNL’s more potent teams.
Visitors should control tempo and space
Tactical approach
The visitors are the complete opposite of Sokol in terms of their approach to games, playing with a high-tempo, pressing game where their fullbacks push on and they constantly look to counter-attack with numbers. Evgeniy Taranukhin, who took charge of the team in January 2025, has instilled an aggressive and vertical style in his men that is already paying dividends and they should control the tempo and the space in this fixture.
Key player
Spartak talisman Amur Kalmykov will relish the space he is likely to get to operate in as his side will dominate possession and he will be a constant threat to the home defense. He has 15 goals in 31 FNL appearances for Kostroma this season and two goals in his last five, so he looks a good value to score any time on Sunday.
High-scoring affair possible, but visitors to win
The odds of 2.29 on Over 2.5 goals make this a low-stakes bet, as the game looks like it could go either way and both teams scoring seems equally likely as one keeping a clean sheet.
- The Both Teams to Score - No market is available at 1.7, so it’s worth supporting one of the teams to blank here.
- Spartak’s attacking threat is greater, but Sokol have lost their last two at home without scoring, so an away victory looks the most likely outcome.
- Vladislav Shpitalnyi is the team’s most reliable forward with four goals in 26 FNL games this season, so the hosts lack a real counter for the clinical Kalmykov.
