2020–21 Russian Premier League

The 2020–21 Russian Premier League is the 29th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 17th under the current Russian Premier League name.

Russian Premier League
Season2020–21
Dates8 August 2020 – 16 May 2021
Matches played152
Goals scored376 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorerSardar Azmoun
Artem Dzyuba
(10 goals)
Biggest home winZenit 6–0 Ufa
(26 September 2020)
Biggest away winUfa 0–3 Krasnodar
(9 August 2020)
Akhmat 0–3 CSKA
(30 August 2020)
Highest scoringKrasnodar 7–2 Khimki
(18 September 2020)
Longest winning run4 matches
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Longest unbeaten run7 matches
Sochi
Longest winless run10 matches
Rotor Volgograd
Longest losing run3 matches
Rotor Volgograd
Total attendance453,607
Average attendance7,200
2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 8 April 2020.

Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2020–21 season. After the 2019–20 season, Orenburg and Krylia Sovetov were relegated to the 2020–21 Russian Football National League. Both return to the second tier after a two-year stay in the top tier. They were replaced by Rotor and Khimki, the winners and runners up of the 2019–20 Russian Football National League. Rotor Volgograd return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence, while Khimki return after an 11-year absence.

Venues
Zenit Saint Petersburg Rotor Khimki Rostov
Krestovsky Stadium Volgograd Arena Arena Khimki Rostov Arena
Capacity: 67,800 Capacity: 45,568 Capacity: 18,636 Capacity: 45,000
Spartak Moscow
Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League
Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow
 Ural Yekaterinburg
Otkritie Arena Central Stadium
Capacity: 44,307 Capacity: 35,696
Krasnodar Akhmat Grozny
Krasnodar Stadium Akhmat-Arena
Capacity: 34,291 Capacity: 30,597
CSKA Moscow Lokomotiv Moscow
VEB Arena RZD Arena
Capacity: 30,457 Capacity: 27,320
Sochi Tambov
Fisht Olympic Stadium Mordovia Arena
Capacity: 47,659 Capacity: 44,442
Arsenal Tula Dynamo Moscow Ufa Rubin Kazan
Arsenal Stadium VTB Arena Neftyanik Stadium Ak Bars Arena
Capacity: 20,048 Capacity: 26,319 Capacity: 15,132 Capacity: 45,093

    Personnel and kits
    Team Location Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
    Akhmat Grozny Andrei Talalayev Oleg Ivanov Adidas Akhmat Foundation
    Arsenal Tula Dmytro Parfenov Yevgeni Lutsenko Adidas SPLAV
    CSKA Moscow Viktor Goncharenko Igor Akinfeev Joma X-Holding
    Dynamo Moscow Sandro Schwarz Anton Shunin Kelme VTB
    Khimki Khimki Igor Cherevchenko Dmitri Tikhiy Puma Parimatch
    Krasnodar Krasnodar Murad Musayev Alyaksandr Martynovich Puma 1XBET
    Lokomotiv Moscow Marko Nikolić Vedran Ćorluka Adidas RZhD
    Rostov Rostov-on-Don Valeri Karpin Aleksei Ionov Puma TNS Energo
    Rotor Volgograd Alyaksandr Khatskevich Azat Bairyyev Nike Marathonbet
    Rubin Kazan Leonid Slutsky Filip Uremović Jako TAIF
    Sochi Sochi Vladimir Fedotov Soslan Dzhanayev Nike
    Spartak Moscow Domenico Tedesco Georgi Dzhikiya Nike Lukoil
    Tambov Tambov Sergei Pervushin Sergey Ryzhikov Nike Parimatch
    Ufa Ufa Rashid Rakhimov Bojan Jokić Joma BetBoom
    Ural Yekaterinburg Yuri Matveyev Denys Kulakov Nike TMK
    Zenit Saint Petersburg Sergei Semak Dejan Lovren Nike Gazprom

    Managerial changes
    Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
    Akhmat Grozny Igor Shalimov Contract expired 26 July 2020[1] Off-season Andrei Talalayev 26 July 2020[1] Off-season
    Khimki Sergei Yuran Fired 1 August 2020[2] Off-season Dmitri Gunko 1 August 2020[3] Off-season
    Khimki Dmitri Gunko Mutual consent 21 September 2020[4] 15th Igor Cherevchenko 25 September 2020[5] 15th
    Dynamo Kirill Novikov Resigned 29 September 2020[6] 9th Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) 29 September 2020 9th
    Ufa Vadim Evseev Mutual consent 7 October 2020[7] 15th Rashid Rakhimov 11 October 2020[8] 15th
    Dynamo Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) End of role 14 October 2020 6th Sandro Schwarz 14 October 2020[9] 6th
    Arsenal Sergei Podpaly[10] Fired 2 November 2020 13th Dmytro Parfenov 2 November 2020 13th

    Tournament format and regulations

    Basic

    The 16 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches will be played, with 30 matches played by each team.[11]

    Promotion and relegation

    The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL 2021–22, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the 2021–22 season.[11]

    The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL 2020–21 teams respectively in two (home-and-away) playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2021–22 season. In case one of the Premier League teams that finish 13th and 14th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the other Premier League club will remain in the league, and the 3rd and 4th FNL teams will play each other in a two games playoff for the remaining spot. In case one of the FNL teams that finish 3rd and 4th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the team that finished Premier League in 13th place will remain in the league, and the team that finished 14th will play the FNL team that passed licensing in a two game playoffs, with the winner securing the Premier League spot. In case only two of the clubs otherwise eligible for the playoffs pass licensing for the 2020–21 season, the playoffs will not be held and the clubs that passed licensing will get the Premier League spots. In case any teams otherwise eligible for the 2021–22 Premier League (including the top 2 2020–21 FNL clubs) will not pass licensing or will be unable to participate in the season for any other reason, the spots will be passed on to the teams that lost in the playoffs, in order of their 2020–21 league position, with the Premier League positions considered higher than FNL positions (for example, if 13th Premier League team and 3rd FNL team lose in the playoffs, the spot will go to the 13th Premier League team). If, after following these procedures, there are still 2021–22 Premier League spots available (in case 3 or more teams otherwise qualified are unable to participate), the remaining replacements will be chosen by the Russian Football Union with agreement of the Premier League and FNL.[11]

    Season events

    On 13 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rotor Volgograd and FC Krasnodar due to more than 7 positive COVID-19 tests among the Rotor players and staff.[12] On 16 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Krasnodar.[13] On 18 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rostov and Rotor originally scheduled for 19 September due to continuing positive virus tests at Rotor.[14] On 22 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Rostov.[15]

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
    1 Zenit Saint Petersburg 19 12 5 2 43 15 +28 41 Qualification to the Champions League group stage
    2 CSKA Moscow 19 11 4 4 35 17 +18 37 Qualification to the Champions League third qualifying round
    3 Spartak Moscow 19 10 5 4 33 21 +12 35 Qualification to the Europa Conference League third qualifying round
    4 Sochi 19 9 6 4 28 22 +6 33 Qualification to the Europa Conference League second qualifying round
    5 Rostov 19 10 2 7 24 20 +4 32
    6 Dynamo Moscow 19 9 3 7 24 21 +3 30[lower-alpha 1]
    7 Krasnodar 19 9 3 7 35 19 +16 30[lower-alpha 1]
    8 Lokomotiv Moscow 19 8 4 7 21 25 −4 28[lower-alpha 2]
    9 Rubin Kazan 19 8 4 7 24 25 −1 28[lower-alpha 2]
    10 Akhmat Grozny 19 7 5 7 19 21 −2 26
    11 Khimki 19 7 4 8 24 30 −6 25
    12 Ural Yekaterinburg 19 4 9 6 16 23 −7 21
    13 Rotor Volgograd 19 3 5 11 9 30 −21 14[lower-alpha 3] Qualification to the Relegation play-offs
    14 Arsenal Tula 19 3 5 11 17 30 −13 14[lower-alpha 3]
    15 Ufa 19 3 4 12 14 31 −17 13[lower-alpha 4] Relegation to the Football National League
    16 Tambov 19 3 4 12 13 29 −16 13[lower-alpha 4]
    Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2020. Source: Premier Liga
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head matches won; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Matches won; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Play-off.
    Notes:
    1. Head-to-head points: Dynamo 3, Krasnodar 0.
    2. Head-to-head points: Lokomotiv 6, Rubin 0.
    3. Head-to-head points: Rotor 4, Arsenal 1.
    4. Head-to-head points: Ufa 3, Tambov 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Ufa +2, Tambov -2.

    Results
    Home \ Away ZEN CSK SPA SOC ROS DYN KRA LOK RUB AKH KHI URA ROT ARS UFA TAM
    Zenit Saint Petersburg — 2–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–2 5–1 3–1 6–0 4–1
    CSKA Moscow — 3–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 2–2 5–1 2–1
    Spartak Moscow 1–1 — 2–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 5–1
    Sochi 1–0 — 4–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–2 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–1
    Rostov 0–2 1–3 — 4–1 0–0 3–0 0–2 1–0 3–0 0–1
    Dynamo Moscow 1–0 3–1 2–0 — 2–0 5–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0
    Krasnodar 1–1 1–3 1–1 — 5–0 3–1 7–2 5–0 2–0 1–0 1–0
    Lokomotiv Moscow 0–0 1–0 — 3–1 2–3 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0
    Rubin Kazan 1–0 0–2 0–2 0–2 — 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–0 2–2
    Akhmat Grozny 2–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 — 2–0 3–1 3–1
    Khimki 0–2 0–2 2–3 1–0 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–2 — 1–1 1–0
    Ural Yekaterinburg 1–1 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 3–1 — 0–0
    Rotor Volgograd 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–3 1–3 0–0 — 1–0 1–0 0–2
    Arsenal Tula 0–0 3–2 2–3 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 — 2–3
    Ufa 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–2 0–0 — 4–0
    Tambov 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 —
    Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2020. Source: Russian Premier League
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
    For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

    Positions by round

    The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

    Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
    Zenit Saint Petersburg21111211111322211111
    CSKA Moscow4258954343321112332
    Spartak Moscow7462213222213333223
    Sochi8973332454676568764
    Rostov67109668737565654545
    Dynamo Moscow5525445596854445456
    Krasnodar16471097678781010910987
    Lokomotiv Moscow33347810865447887678
    Rubin Kazan12101312810698999891091099
    Akhmat Grozny1013865791010101010977681010
    Khimki15141515151515151414141414141212121111
    Ural Yekaterinburg1311121012111111111113131111111111121212
    Rotor Volgograd14151616161616161616161515151516161613
    Arsenal Tula9121413111314121212111213121313131314
    Ufa168911131213141515151616161615141415
    Tambov11161114141412131313121112131414151516
    Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2020. Source: https://eng.premierliga.ru/tournaments/championship/tournament-table/

    Season statistics

    Top goalscorers
    As of matches played on 12 December 2020.[16]
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Sardar Azmoun Zenit Saint Petersburg 11
    Artem Dzyuba Zenit Saint Petersburg
    3 Marcus Berg Krasnodar 9
    4 Jordan Larsson Spartak Moscow 8
    Christian Noboa Sochi
    Ezequiel Ponce Spartak Moscow
    Nikola Vlašić CSKA Moscow
    8 Đorđe Despotović Rubin Kazan 7
    9 Bernard Berisha Akhmat Grozny 6
    Rémy Cabella Krasnodar
    Konstantin Kuchayev CSKA Moscow
    Daniil Lesovoy Arsenal Tula
    Dynamo Moscow
    Aleksandr Yerokhin Zenit Saint Petersburg

    Top assists
    As of matches played on 12 December 2020.[17]
    Rank Player Club Assists
    1 Zelimkhan Bakayev Spartak Moscow 5
    Oleh Danchenko Ufa
    Timofei Margasov Sochi
    Douglas Santos Zenit Saint Petersburg
    Nikola Vlašić CSKA Moscow
    6 Fyodor Chalov CSKA Moscow 4
    Artem Dzyuba Zenit Saint Petersburg
    Aleksei Ionov Krasnodar
    Jordan Larsson Spartak Moscow
    Anton Miranchuk Lokomotiv Moscow
    Sebastian Szymański Dynamo Moscow

    References
    1. "Андрей Талалаев назначен главным тренером ФК «Ахмат»" (in Russian). FC Akhmat Grozny. 26 July 2020.
    2. "СЕРГЕЙ ЮРАН ПОКИДАЕТ «ХИМКИ»" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 1 August 2020.
    3. "ДМИТРИЙ ГУНЬКО - ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР «ХИМОК»" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 1 August 2020.
    4. "«ХИМКИ» ПРЕКРАЩАЮТ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО С ДМИТРИЕМ ГУНЬКО ПО ОБОЮДНОМУ СОГЛАСИЮ" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 21 September 2020.
    5. "ИГОРЬ ЧЕРЕВЧЕНКО ВОЗГЛАВИЛ «ХИМКИ»" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 25 September 2020.
    6. "Руководство «Динамо» приняло отставку Кирилла Новикова" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 29 September 2020.
    7. "Вадим Евсеев покидает пост главного тренера" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 7 October 2020.
    8. "Рашид Рахимов – главный тренер ФК Уфа!". fcufa.pro/ (in Russian). FC Ufa. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
    9. "Сандро Шварц — новый главный тренер футбольного клуба «Динамо» Москва". fcdynamo.ru/ (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
    10. "ДМИТРИЙ ПАРФЕНОВ – ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР «АРСЕНАЛА»" [Dmytro Parfenov is the head coach of Arsenal] (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
    11. "Регламент Тинькофф Российской Премьер-Лиги сезона 2020/21" [Tinkoff Russian Premier League 2020–21 regulations] (PDF) (in Russian). Russian Premier League. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
    12. "Матч «Ротор» – «Краснодар» не состоится" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 13 September 2020.
    13. "Итоги Контрольно-дисциплинарного комитета РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 16 September 2020.
    14. "Матч «Ростов» – «Ротор» не состоится" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 18 September 2020.
    15. "Итоги КДК РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 22 September 2020.
    16. "Best Scorers". Russian Premier League. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    17. "Top Assists". Russian Premier League. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
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