Do the Russians improve their international record?
In Group H of the Champions League, it all boils down to Juventus Turin and Chelsea deciding who will win the group, while Malmö and Zenit St. Petersburg will decide between themselves who will finish third in the Europa League. The Russians, who won the first leg 4:0 at home, have the better chances. Even with a draw, they would be safe in the Europa League semi-finals.
Malmö FF, meanwhile, go into this home match with a dismal record of seven consecutive defeats in the Champions League with 0:29 goals. Accordingly, the odds are clearly against the Swedes ahead of the match between Malmo and St. Petersburg, who could now become the fourth team in the top flight not to score in eight consecutive games.
However, this guest game is by no means a foregone conclusion for the Russians. Zenit have won only one of their last eleven matches in the top flight, but the 4-0 victory over the Swedes in the first leg was the highest international match win in the club’s history.
Also because of the difference in class in the first leg, it is quite possible to play Malmö against Zenit St. Petersburg tip 2 despite the poor record of the Russians. This bet can also be placed on mobile devices.
Malmo – Statistics & current form
In 1979, 21-time Swedish champions Malmö FF once surprisingly reached the final of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, which the Himmelsblått (German: Himmelblauen) lost 0:1 against Nottingham Forest.
Apart from the Swedes’ best ever run in the Champions League’s predecessor, Malmö FF and this competition rarely went together. Only twice before did the blåe qualify for the group stage of the top flight, which they have never made it out of in one piece.
Seven CL defeats in a row with 0:29 goals
The Sky Blått are once again heading for an early exit as group last, which can hardly be averted after four defeats from the first four games. In total, the Swedes have lost seven consecutive games in the Champions League.
The fact that Malmö have not scored a single goal of their own in those seven games, but have conceded a total of 29, is a tough one. With the exception of the recent 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, Malmö have conceded at least three goals in all of their other matches.
The focus is 100% on the Allsvenskan
In addition, the Himmelsblått currently have other things to worry about than the top flight. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side are fighting for the championship in the Allsvenskan, where the season ends in a few weeks, but are only two points clear of Djurgårdens IF in the league standings.
Because their closest rivals still have a game to play, the Swedes can’t afford to lose any more points at national level, where they were held to another 2-2 draw against Häcken on Saturday. All the less the focus should now be on the meaningless home match against the Russians, in which the blåe go into as underdogs anyway.
Predicted line-up of Malmö:
Dahlin – Rieks – Brorsson – Nielsen – Ahmedhozic – Berget – Pena – Innocent – Rakip – Nanasi – Colak
Last matches played by Malmö:
Allsvenskan
11/20 2021 – Malmö FF 2 – 2 Häcken
11/07 2021 – IFK Göteburg 0 – 2 Malmö FF
Champions League Grp. H
11/02 2021 – Malmo FF 0 – 1 Chelsea London
Allsvenskan
10/30 2021 – Sirius 2 – 3 Malmo FF
10/27 2021 – Malmö FF 1 – 0 AIK
Zenit St. Petersburg – Statistics & current form
Zenit St. Petersburg celebrated their third consecutive national championship and seventh title overall in the Russian Premier League this summer. The Sine-Belo-Golubye once again qualified for the Champions League, although they have not made it past the preliminary round since the 2015/16 season.
After three defeats in the first four group matches, the Zenitchiki are still only fighting for third place. A draw in Sweden is all that is needed to win it.
Only one win among the last eleven Champions League games
Sergey Semak’s side would love to improve their recent international record. The 2008 UEFA Cup winners have only won one of their last eleven Champions League games (one draw, nine defeats): the aforementioned 4-0 home victory over Malmö in the first leg.
The Russians are accordingly motivated going into this away match, into which they also bring a lot of momentum. At national level, they have recently won ten out of a possible twelve points with 16 goals to 3.
The Round of 16 is not yet completely written off
The Zenitchiki now lead the Premier League by four points over Dinamo Moscow after 15 games and are heading straight for a fourth consecutive championship. Under a correspondingly good star is at Malmö against Zenit St. Petersburg Tip 2.
With this cushion behind them, the Sine-Belo-Golubye can now also turn their full focus to the UEFA competitions in order to secure third place in Group H. Meanwhile, should Juventus beat Chelsea in the parallel match, the Zenitchiki would even get a final match on the last matchday for a place in the last 16 against the defending champions as London.
Predicted line-up of Zenit St. Petersburg:
Kritsyuk – Karavaev – Rakitskiy – Christyakov – Lovren – Sutormin – Wendel – Barrios – Claudinho – Mostovoy – Dzyuba
Last matches played by Zenit St. Petersburg:
Premier League
11/19 2021 – Zenit St. Petersburg 5 – 1 Nizhny Novgorod
11/07 2021 – Ural Ekaterinburg 0 – 0 Zenit St. Petersburg
Champions League Grp. H
11/02 2021 – Juventus Turin 4 – 2 Zenit St. Petersburg
Premier League
10/29 2021 – Zenit St. Petersburg 4 – 1 Dynamo Moscow
10/24 2021 – Zenit St. Petersburg 7 – 1 Spartak Moscow
Malmo – Zenit St. Petersburg Direct comparison / H2H record
The first leg on 20 September 2021 was the only competitive match between the two teams to date. The Russians won 4:0 at home and recorded their highest-ever win in an international competition match.
Malmö – Zenit St. Petersburg tip
For Malmö against Zenit St. Petersburg, the forecast must take into account that the Swedes are currently in the hot phase in the Allsvenskan, which ends in a few weeks. After dropping two points at the weekend, nothing can be allowed to go wrong in league play, which is why it would come as little surprise if coach Jon Dahl Tomasson sends a B eleven onto the pitch in view of the hopeless situation in the Champions League.
The Russians, on the other hand, could consolidate third place with a point, but would still get a final play-off for second place with an away win if Turin beat Chelsea at the same time. Accordingly, it is important for the Zenitchiki to do their homework and get the away win.
In view of this situation, we are betting on tip 2, for which odds of 2.02 are available on Malmö against Zenit St. Petersburg.
