In the final round, Moscow's Lokomotiv plays Shinnik in Yaroslavl while CSKA takes on FK Moskva in Moscow. Victory is the only acceptable option to both of the leading teams.
Soccer analysts are now speculating about how things may play out in these matches. According to one scenario, CSKA will easily beat FK Moskva and will try to encourage Shinnik to overcome Lokomotiv. It will be remembered that Shinnik's present head coach is Oleg Dolmatov, whose previous work with CSKA earned him high popularity with fans of this Moscow club.
Another scenario suggests that Shinnik, now in sixth position and, arguably, with no sufficient motivation to win, will lose to Lokomotiv, but in a tightly contested match. Yet, Lokomotiv will make arrangements with FK Moskva to prevent CSKA from scoring.
Interestingly enough, representatives of all sides concerned rule out the possibility of backstage intrigues. Thus, for instance, FK Moskva Managing Director Yuri Belous told RIA Novosti in an interview that Lokomotiv had not approached his club with any such requests and that playing with CSKA at half capacity was absolutely out of the question. "A victory in this match will, among other things, definitely draw more fans to our stadium in the new season, and this is a very weighty argument indeed," he said.
Spokesmen for the two frontrunners refuse to publicly comment on the forthcoming matches. Small wonder, given their current state of mind. CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev, however, has expressed hope that the outcome of the final round will be as surprising as that of the entire championships and that the battle will be fair.
Whether this hope will come true remains to be seen. But already, almost all of the participating teams have protested against the appointed referees, arguing that their track records are tainted with biased judging. Speaking in a RIA interview, Alexander Sterngel, of Russia's Soccer Referee Board, has remarked with sad irony that there may prove to be no reliable professional around to judge the championships' final fixtures, in which case Russia will never know the name of its new soccer champion.
