National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Avangard Kursk or Kaluga that keep their silverware dream alive.
There’s little time for restitution or working hard at the training pitch these days, with both teams having played their last game less than four days ago.
It's quite the trip for Kaluga when visiting Avangard as the cities are 2300 kilometers apart.
Avangard Kursk form and stats
Last season their Russian Cup adventure ended in the 4th round.The home fans are hungry for more even though Avangard have been steadily collecting points here through three straight draws.
The home supporters saw a 1-1 draw versus Khimik Novomoskovsk in the Pfl last time out and are looking for a win here. Prior to that, an away loss at Ryazan in the Pfl.
The manager I. Belyaev will start preparations for the next game as soon this is finished, as the hosts are going to Kvant in only four days.
Avangard Kursk have spent many days and weeks preparing for this match, with countless hours on the training pitches and five practice matches played. These training games have ended with 0 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat. Some might be interested in the goal production stats for these matches; Avangard Kursk scored 4 goals and let in 6 goals during these five games.
Kaluga form and stats
The traveling awayteam has defeated Smolensk in order to reach 2nd Round of Russian Cup. Kaluga's mission in Russian Cup last season failed in the 3rd round.It’s been three wins in a row for Kaluga on their travels, an amazing performance which inspire hopes of making this one the fourth consecutive victory.
Kaluga might have something to prove in this game as they lost at home in their previous match. Ryazan proved too strong as Kaluga slumped to a 1-2 defeat in front of their own fans.
The schedule is very tough for Kaluga now as they have to travel again shortly after this match. A Pfl game at Khimik Novomoskovsk is waiting in only four days.
It's finally time to play a game of importance again as a long period of training has passed. Kaluga have played a number of friendly games in this period, resulting in 0 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats from five fixtures.
Head 2 Head
Top Goalscorers
  D. Baranov 2 goals |   D. Zavarukhin 1 goals |
Avangard Kursk missing players
Kaluga missing players
| Avangard Kursk | Kaluga | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 16 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Won | W | 4 | 6 | ||
| 15 | 8 | Drew | D | 2 | 8 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Lost | L | 7 | 11 | ||
| 38 | 28 | Scored | S | 14 | 31 | ||
| 35 | 22 | Conceded | C | 19 | 37 | ||
| 92% | 88% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 92% | ||
| 84% | 81% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 62% | 72% | ||
| 48% | 62% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 46% | 52% | ||
| 36% | 44% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 31% | 32% | ||
| 16% | 19% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 8% | 16% | ||
| 68% | 62% | BTTS | BTTS | 31% | 52% | ||
| 12% | 19% | Clean Sheets | C S | 31% | 28% | ||
| 28% | 31% | Failed to Score | F T | 38% | 28% | ||
| 4.1 | 4.2 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 6.3 | 5.9 | ||
| 5.2 | 5.2 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.9 | 5.9 | ||
| 1.9 | 1.9 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.4 | 1.9 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 207 | 134 | Total Shots | T S | 103 | 206 | ||
| 96 | 67 | Shots on Target | S O | 50 | 96 | ||
| 36% | 42% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 22% | 26% | ||