Intriguing fixtures in Russia

Russian Premier League leaders Anzhi Makhachkala will be out to extend their winning streak this weekend away to Dynamo Moscow, who have bounced back from a poor start to the season. Big-spending Anzhi have won their last five league matches to take top spot in the national championship for the first time in the club's history. They were also boosted by Thursday's 2-0 win over Swiss outfit Young Boys Berne in their UEFA Europa League campaign, thanks to a double from Anzhi skipper Samuel Eto'o. Meanwhile, Dynamo, who have shown clear signs of recovery under the coaching of Romania's Dan Petrescu, are coming off back-to-back wins. Second-placed CSKA Moscow on Sunday will take on city rivals Spartak, who are Russia's most successful club with nine national titles in their trophy cabinet. CSKA are still without their Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia, sidelined with a back injury, and Czech striker Tomas Necid, who is recovering from ruptured knee ligaments. The Red Army side will also be without midfielder Alan Dzagoev, who was shown a straight red card for a foul on Dynamo's Australian right back Luke Wilkshire in the previous match. He will have to spend five matches on the sidelines. Spartak, who suffered a dissappointing 3-2 home defeat in their UEFA Champions League clash with Celtic earlier this week, will also be without several players. Spartak skipper and top goalkeeper Andrei Dykan is out of the squad for at least a month with a dislocated shoulder, while Brazilian midfielder Romulo, who underwent knee ligaments surgery last week, will spend several months on the sidelines. Defender Sergei Parshivlyuk and Brazilian striker Welliton are both on the way to complete recovery from their injuries. Spartak's Spanish manager Unay Emeri said that the debry was always a match, which brought out the best from both teams in terms of effort. Reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg, who also lost 3-2 defeat at the hands of Italy's giants AC Milan in their Champions League clash, will try to end their winless streak in the domestic league in the away match with FC Krasnodar. Zenit, who recorded their last win in the national championship on 31 August, have been riven by internal discord over the wages being paid to big-money signings Hulk and Axel Witsel, which has led Russian national captain Igor Denisov to being dropped to the youth squad. The internal feuds provented the club, which is financially backed by the state gas and oil giant Gazprom, from showing its best football in a series of recent matches. Zenit are currently seventh in the Premier League table with 18 points from ten matches, five points behind leaders Anzhi. From Fifa