Novosibirsk saw off Zenit Kazan 3-0 in a club friendly on September 22nd. The result extends their recent dominance in this fixture. By then they had already beaten Kazan 3-0 earlier in May.
These friendlies tend to tell a different story from the competitive ones. And here's the thing — Novosibirsk picked up where they left off. They won 3-2 in their last meeting back in May, then this time it was a clean sheet.
Zenit Kazan's recent run hasn't been kind. They lost 2-3 to Novosibirsk in their last outing, then fell 0-3 to their namesakes in Saint Petersburg. To be fair, they did bounce back with two straight wins over Dynamo-Lo before dropping that 0-3 to Dynamo Moscow.
Novosibirsk have been the more consistent side lately. Three wins in five matches, including that 3-0 over Zenit Kazan back in May. They've also seen off Dynamo-Lo and Saint Petersburg's Zenit in that span.
Without competitive stakes, the table doesn't move. But results like this matter for confidence. Novosibirsk keep the upper hand in this fixture, at least for now.
