On October 4, the VTB Arena will host the fifth round of the Russian Cup RPL Road, featuring a clash between Dynamo Moscow and Spartak. The ball is set to roll at 16:45 Moscow time, and both teams have already announced their starting lineups ahead of kickoff. Dynamo will line up with Leshchuk, Balbuena, Marichal, Skopintsev, Bessmertny, Kutitsky, Fomin, Bitello, Gladyshev, Lesovoy, and Smolov. Spartak counters with Maksimenko, Maslov, Chernov, Dzhikia, Ryabchuk, Umyarov, Prutsev, Ignatov, Meleshin, Medina, and Zinkovsky. A jury panel led by Vladimir Moskalev is scheduled to oversee the match proceedings.
Entering this stage of the competition, Spartak sits at the top of the table after four group matches, having collected 12 points and secured a spot in the playoffs. Guillermo Abascal’s squad has achieved four victories so far, underscoring their strong position early in the campaign. Dynamo sits in second place with five points, while Krasnodar shares the same tally, and Paris Nizhny Novgorod has two points. The standings set the scene for an intriguing encounter as both sides bid to strengthen their progress in the tournament.
Earlier on October 4, Krylia Sovetov faced a setback in Samara, where they were defeated 0-3 by Akhmat Grozny. The result effectively ended their chances of reaching the playoffs this time around. Earlier still, Rubin Kazan missed a similar opportunity after a 0-2 loss to Ural on October 3, widening the gap at the top of the group and reshaping the qualification picture for the remaining rounds.
It is worth noting that in the 2022/23 season, Media League clubs took part in the Russian Cup for the first time. This season, 2DROTS exited in the fourth round, while Amkal was eliminated in the second round, highlighting the evolving nature of the competition and the varying performance trajectories of non-traditional participants.
In related developments, reports earlier indicated that a former Spartak player had stepped away from his role as head coach of a second league club, marking another shift in the coaching landscape surrounding the club and the broader Russian football scene. The surrounding narrative continues to unfold as teams compete for cup progression and league positioning, with every fixture contributing to the evolving story of Russian football during this season.