Zenit vs Samara. Preview
Late last night, American guard Xavier Moon arrived in Saint Petersburg, and today the new-old Zenit player visited team’s pre-game practice.
Opponent
It has been just under two months since our last meeting with Samara. The Volga side’s position in the championship remains unchanged — Vladislav Konovalov’s team sits at the bottom of the standings with one win in 24 games.
It is worth noting that Samara faced a truly demanding schedule in January: after opening with a tightly contested game against Enisey, the Volga team suffered heavy defeats to UNICS (twice), CSKA, Uralmash, Lokomotiv Kuban, and BETCITY PARMA.
At the same time, the visiting team features the top scorer of the VTB United League in the 2025/26 season — Nikita Mikhailovskii, who averages 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 30 minutes per game.
Head-to-head
The upcoming matchup will be the 11th meeting between Zenit and Samara, and all previous head-to-head games have ended in victories for the Saint Petersburg side.
Direct speech
Assistant coach Rostislav Vergun shared his thoughts ahead of the game against Samara:
Of course, this is a very short period of time for any significant qualitative changes, but you can feel the desire and energy of the guys to turn the season around. This is a good sign, and that’s what we’ll build on.
Who. Where. When.
Opponent: Samara
Location: CSC Arena, St. Petersburg
Date: February 1, 13:00 (local time)
Broadcast: Okko Sport, VTB United League website, VK Video, Start Basket
