- Head-to-head: Zenit St. Petersburg have won 4 of the last 5 head-to-heads and took a 3-1 victory when last meeting in Premier League 2025/2026 away from home.
- Team form: Zenit St. Petersburg come into the game on a high having won 4 of their last 5 matches (1 defeat).
Zenit have the edge over Dynamo in a fine chess match
Zenit are the clear favorites to win Sunday's Premier League 2026-2027 clash at Gazprom Arena with the bookmakers currently quoting them at 1.68 ahead of Dynamo at 5.2 and the draw at 3.94. However, the oddsmakers have been pretty generous to the visitors and we feel that a bet on both teams to score at 1.79 represents good value here.
Sergey Semak's side currently hold a place at the top of the table with six points from three games, two clear of Dynamo in eighth place with four points from their opening three games. However, it is worth noting that the hosts have been underperforming at home so far this season with no wins, one draw and one defeat from their two home league fixtures to date.
They did suffer a disappointing 1-2 home defeat to Rodina Moscow last outing, but will be looking to get back to winning ways on Sunday.
Midfield battle will dictate the rhythm
Zenit's shape
Sergey Semak has done a terrific job of maintaining the club's identity since his appointment in 2018. His side are structured and solid in a possession-based 4-4-2 system that allows them to control the flow of games by creating overloads between the lines.
Key players
Dynamo Moscow are set up in a more pragmatic and flexible way to that of their hosts, since the appointment of Sandro Schwarz in July 2026.
- Maksim Glushenkov is the primary danger man for Zenit with three goals in two Premier League 2026/2027 games and four of the team's last eight overall.
- Meanwhile, Viktor Okishor can be the spark that gets the ball in the right places for Dynamo, having provided two assists in two Premier League 2026/2027 appearances this season.
- His 4-2-3-1 setup can morph into a number of different structures and he has the luxury of a creative attacker in Anton Miranchuk who has one goal in three Premier League 2026/2027 matches and two of Dynamo's last six overall.
Hosts to edge it, but there will be goals
We think the value lies in backing both teams to get on the scoreboard on Sunday, but the matchup suggests to us that Zenit are more likely to edge it. Dynamo have played some excellent soccer so far this year and have the ability to hurt the hosts with a few sharp counter-attacks.
Zenit have scored 1.00 goals and conceded 2.00 per game in their two home league matches this term, so they have been a little loose at the back. Dynamo have conceded two goals in their one away trip so far in Premier League 2026/2027, so the door should be open for the visitors to nick a goal at least.
Zenit will try to be patient and work their way into a rhythm while Dynamo will attempt to catch them on the counter attack in a chess match that should be decided by the midfield areas, but the home side have won two of their last three home head-to-heads so we feel Zenit to win and over 2.5 goals at 1.91 is the cleaner bet.
