CSKA vs Zenit. Preview

This Sunday, all basketball fans can look forward to the much-anticipated derby between St. Petersburg's Zenit and Moscow's CSKA. Their first showdown of the season will take place at the Megasport Arena, and it will undoubtedly draw thousands of fans both in the stands and in front of their screens. This match will be another serious test for Xavi Pascual's team, who returned to their winning ways this week.

How the Opponent is Doing

Like the blue-white-and-golds, CSKA has already faced a setback in this regular season. Their away game in Nizhny Novgorod ended in a disappointing loss in the final moments. After that defeat, Andreas Pistiolis's team had a week off, while Zenit was busy defeating the Muscovites’ conquerors in what was their sixth game in this season's VTB United League. At the moment, the red-and-blues are in third place in the standings with four wins out of five matches.

CSKA comes into this match with the best rebounding statistics among all participating clubs, averaging 42 rebounds per game. The most productive players on the Moscow team at the start of the season are Melo Trimble (11.6 points) and newcomer Aleksa Avramović (11.2), a high-profile signing this offseason who has already made a quick adjustment to his new team.

Connections

Andrey Vorontsevich has played against CSKA many times with both UNICS and Nizhny. But now the forward faces his first match against his former team in Zenit colors.

Head-to-Head Matches

This will be the 51st game in the history of the teams' matchups in the VTB United League, where Zenit has come out on top 18 times. Sunday’s game marks the first meeting with the Army Men since last season’s semifinal series.

Statements

Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual shared his thoughts before the match in Moscow.

“This is yet another big game against a very good team. They’ve been playing well all season. We know that in these kinds of games, we must play very well if we want to win, without ups and downs. Throughout the game, we need to be reliable on both defense and offense.”

Details

Opponent: CSKA

Location: Megasport Arena, Moscow

Time: October 13, 17:00 SPB

Broadcast: Match TV, VTB United League website, Okko Sport, Start