Football Season Guide

Head coach Sergey Semak won his fifth consecutive Russian Premier League title last season and it will be hard for them to be beaten once again this season. Semak has won the title in every season that he has been in charge of Zenit and the signing of Pedro from Corinthians will continue to put the St. Petersburg club in pole position. Gustavo Mantuan has also joined the side on a permanent deal after a solid loan move last term. The sale of Daler Kuzyaev will likely see Mantuan's role in the squad increase for the upcoming campaign. However, the sale of Kuzyaev, who had been at the club since 2017, will still be a big miss. Aleksandr Kovalenko, a teenage signing from Sochi, could also help provide depth. He has a bright future. Zenit's affluent attack, led by the likes of Malcom, who bagged 23 league goals last term, will continue to strike fear into the rest of the league. The club are at their best when on the front foot and it will be hard for them to be stopped. There really aren't many weaknesses in the team and they also had the best defence last term too. The only concern would be if they got a couple of injuries at the back.