Closing the circle
PRE-GAME BREAKDOWN
Blue-white-blue are the undisputed leaders of the tournament standings. Even the victory of CSKA, which is now in second place, will not shake Zenit's positions. To win the regular season, the Muscovites will have to wait for their opponents to misfire in at least one of their two away games with Parma and Nizhny Novgorod.
This time the match in St. Petersburg will be held not at SIBUR-Arena, but at Yubileyny Palace.
The Army Team do not count on Joel Bolomboy (ankle injury), Mike James (suspended by the coach), Nikola Milutinov (shoulder surgery) and Janis Strelnieks (not on VTB League roster).
WORD TO THE COACH
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
We all know what Zenit represents. They are leading the league. We played many times this season and preseason, so we know each other very well. So it’s a matter of motivation and concentration. It will be another battle.
CLOSE “RELATIONS”
Zenit’s Andrey Zubkov was a teammate of Nikita Kurbanov in Lokomotiv-Kuban during 2014-15 season.
Vitaly Fridzon spent five seasons with CSKA from 2013 through 2018. He helped the club win the 2016 EuroLeague and five VTB United League titles. He played under Coach Itoudis and alongside Semen Antonov, Will Clyburn and Nikita Kurbanov.
PAST MATCHUPS
Wins-losses: 16-5 (18-0 against Triumph Lyubertsy)
Games of the 2020-21 season:
18-Dec-2020. EuroLeague. Regular season. CSKA – Zenit: 83-65 (+18)
13-Feb-2021. VTB League. Regular season. CSKA – Zenit: 71-74 (-3)
30-Mar-2021. EuroLeague. Regular season. Zenit – CSKA: 74-86 (+12)
SHORT DOSSIER
Zenit St.Petersburg, Russia
Founded: 2014
Colors: dark-blue, white, light-blue
Homecourt: SIBUR Arena (7,120)
CEO: Alexander Tserkovny
Head coach: Xavi Pascual
Website: basket.fc-zenit.ru
