Football Season Guide

Amkar Perm had a "Jekyll and Hyde" season last term as they were simply superb in the autumn and then they completely took their foot off the gas in the spring, winning just once in 2017. The loss of two major players in Giorgi Jikia and Aleksandr Selikhov played a part in that but now Gadzhi Gadzhiev needs to find some fresh momentum within the squad and avoid a poor start, as that may well make Amkar major relegation contenders. It is clear that there is not much quality in this Amkar side but they rely on defensive organisation and clever play from set-pieces to make the most of what they have. Additions in the summer have been few and far between, even if Mikhail Sivakov is a fine defender at this level and should become a regular in the back five. Artur Nigmatullin is expected to be the new regular goalie after doing well for Tosno last season but there is still glaring lack of speed and quality in attack and any sort of creativity nous in midfield. Darko Bodul chipped in with the odd goal last season but now players like Aleksei Gasilin and Mihail Kostyukov will be expected to up their level and bring more to the side in attacking terms. No major regulars have departed the squad so far and, overall, Amkar have a pretty deep and varied squad, even if there is not much quality to choose from. They look in a decent position to finish in mid-table but will need to replicate the defensive staunchness from last autumn to give them a good platform.