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CSKA enter the Moscow derby destroyed by injuries

The home line-up is missing several important players, even captain Morozov, which will be a huge setback, while Dinamo still haven't been defeated in the last five games, all of them won in handicap

CSKA enter the Moscow derby in a bad mood for several reasons, weak results in the beginning of the season and a lot of injured important players, which is why they'll have problems in the rotations in this and upcoming matches.

The grabbed seven points in the first five matches, which can't be considered a success for the team of such reputation. The only one real win is against Donbass in an away game, and the other two were a torture through overtimes, where they scored two points. The same scenario happened in the last game against Riga, who they defeated only after better penalty kicks in a very hard and closed match. Alexandar Radulov, their best player and one of the best in the league, secured victory after 2 penalty shoot-outs. Overall, their game wasn't brilliant, just as all matches, except for the one against Donbass.

Their powerplay is also not brilliant. They seized only one out of seven opportunities against Riga, and they scored only second goal in 23 efforts with one excess player this season, which is, truth be told, miserable eight per cent and set them among weaker teams in the league.

- I'm still not completely pleased with my game, or the team's game. We cannot hide the fact that this is a very bad season opener and we have a lot to improve. We're young and ambitious team and I believe we'll rise, but a lot of injuries hold us back said the best CSKA player Alexandar Radulov.

Injuries are numerous and it will be felt in the game. Very important defenders Zaitsev and Rylov will be absent, which is a great setback for the team. Captain Morozov and striker Fedor Fedorov are also injured. They'll also miss striker Gusov, who supposedly stated he didn't want to play for the club any more.

The current champion of the KHL, Dinamo from Moscow, is in a completely different mood facing the grand derby. They had a great season opener, won five times in a row, and each time with at least two goals difference, which is fantastic. Their goal is guarded by terrific Eremenko, who's taken only three scores in five games so far, and strikers scored 18.

One can't say anything bad about the defending champion's game, and we should especially commend their penalty killing line up, who took only one goal with one player less from 20 situations in five matches, which makes them the best team in the league (95 %). Also, only three taken goals put them on the top.

- Of course, we have to thank our goalkeeper for keeping the net empty, but our defense was also good. Vityaz were the true test. The meeting was played in a way we wanted to from the beginning until the end, and we're pleased with victory in the first away game this season - said Dinamo's striker Alexei Sopin.

They limited Vityaz to only 18 strikes in the last game, and they were subdued by great Eremeneko on goal. Te 2-0 result wasn't realistic in the end, because Dinamo's victory should have been more convincing, but they certainly won't be disappointed. They showed a great game again and CSKA should definitely be scared before this meeting.

CSKA won the prep mutual match before the beginning of this season, which, however, shouldn't be taken as a too relevant fact. In the last three mutual matches in the league, Dinamo celebrated. They're favorites in this match, due to CSKA's bad shape and numerous injuries.

Dinamo is still without injured players Budkin, Soin and Shafigulin, but that isn't a huge problem for them.

The mood and atmosphere before the derby is completely different in these teams and that needs to be used. CSKA have a lot of injured players, they are extremely important defenders Zaitsev and Rylov, and one of the main forwards, team captain Morozov. Also unavailable are forwards Fedorov and Nepryayev and all this is a big handicap for CSKA. It has all come down to Radulov who spent 25 minutes on ice in the last game, but he himself said he is not happy with the way he is playing. They haven't had a good start of the season, they are not playing well. Dinamo Riga took away a point from their arena, and in the game before that they lost to Spartak. On the other side they have the defending champion who defeated CSKA in the play-off last season with easy 4-1. They had a great start of the season, five games, five wins, and all in handicap, with 18-3 goal difference. The whole team is playing great, they showed that against strong teams. They have the best defense, goalie and penalty killing in the league, and the offense isn't far behind. During the previous regular season they celebrated on this visit. With problems with injuries, bad atmosphere and CSKA's bad form this bet seems like an excellent choice because Dinamo is much closer to winning considering all the facts and the game the displayed.