2017–18 Russian Premier League
26th season of top-tier football league in Russia
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The 2017–18 Russian Premier League was the 26th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 16th under the current Russian Premier League name. Spartak Moscow came into the season as the defending champions.
| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Lokomotiv Moscow 3rd title |
| Relegated | Amkar Perm Tosno SKA-Khabarovsk |
| Champions League | Lokomotiv Moscow CSKA Moscow Spartak Moscow |
| Europa League | Krasnodar Zenit St. Petersburg Ufa |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 541 (2.25 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Quincy Promes (15 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Rubin 6–0 Anzhi CSKA Moscow 6–0 Tosno CSKA Moscow 6–0 Arsenal Tula Zenit St. Petersburg 6–0 SKA-Khabarovsk |
| Biggest away win | Anzhi 1–5 Krasnodar Dynamo Moscow 0–4 Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Highest scoring | Spartak Moscow 3–4 Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches: Spartak Moscow (5 Nov–10 Dec) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 18 matches: Spartak Moscow (27 Aug–8 Apr) |
| Longest winless run | 18 matches: SKA-Khabarovsk (14 Oct–13 May) |
| Longest losing run | 9 matches: SKA-Khabarovsk (29 Oct–17 Mar) |
| Highest attendance | 53,359 Zenit St. Petersburg 5–1 Spartak Moscow (6 August 2017) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,089 Amkar 0–2 Arsenal (9 March 2018)[note 1] |
| Total attendance | 3,353,024[1] |
| Average attendance | 13,971[1] |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
Teams
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As in the previous season, 16 teams played in the 2017–18 season. After the 2016–17 season, FC Orenburg, FC Tom Tomsk and FC Krylia Sovetov Samara were relegated to the 2017–18 Russian National Football League. They were replaced by three clubs from the 2016–17 Russian National Football League, FC Dynamo Moscow, FC Tosno and FC SKA-Khabarovsk. Dynamo returned after one season of absence, while Tosno and SKA-Khabarovsk made their debuts in the Russian top-tier division.
Before the season, FC Terek Grozny changed its name to FC Akhmat Grozny.
Stadiums
| Team | Stadium | City | Opened | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akhmat Grozny | Akhmat-Arena | Grozny | 2011 | 30,597 |
| Amkar Perm | Zvezda Stadium | Perm | 1969 | 17,000 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | Anzhi Arena | Kaspiysk | 2003 | 26,400 |
| Arsenal Tula | Arsenal Stadium | Tula | 1959 | 20,048 |
| CSKA Moskva | VEB Arena | Moscow | 2016 | 30,000 |
| Dynamo Moskva | Arena Khimki | Khimki | 2008 | 18,636 |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar Stadium | Krasnodar | 2016 | 34,291 |
| Lokomotiv Moskva | Lokomotiv Stadium | Moscow | 2002 | 28,800 |
| Rostov | Rostov Arena | Rostov-on-Don | 2018 | 37,868 |
| Rubin Kazan | Kazan Arena | Kazan | 2013 | 45,379 |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Lenin Stadium | Khabarovsk | 1951 | 15,200 |
| Spartak Moskva | Otkrytiye Arena | Moscow | 2014 | 45,360 |
| Tosno | Petrovsky Stadium | Saint Petersburg | 1925 | 21,405 |
| Ufa | Neftyanik Stadium | Ufa | 1967 | 15,234 |
| Ural Yekaterinburg | Central Stadium | Yekaterinburg | 1940 | 35,696 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Krestovsky Stadium | Saint Petersburg | 2017 | 64,287 |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Location | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akhmat Grozny | Grozny |  Igor Lediakhov (caretaker) |
Adidas | Akhmat Foundation |
| Amkar Perm | Perm | Vadim Evseev (caretaker) |
Adidas | |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | Makhachkala |  Vadim Skripchenko |
Nike | |
| Arsenal Tula | Tula |  Miodrag Božović |
Adidas | SPLAV |
| CSKA Moscow | Moscow | Viktor Goncharenko |
Adidas | Rosseti |
| Dynamo Moscow | Moscow | Dmitri Khokhlov |
Nike | VTB |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar | Murad Musayev (caretaker) |
Puma | Constell Group |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | Moscow | Yuri Semin |
Adidas | RZhD |
| Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Valeri Karpin |
Adidas | |
| Rubin Kazan | Kazan |  Kurban Berdyev |
Jako, New Balance | Nizhnekamskneftekhim |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Khabarovsk | Sergei Perednya |
Adidas | LeonBets |
| Spartak Moscow | Moscow |  Massimo Carrera |
Nike | LUKOIL |
| Tosno | Tosno |  Dmytro Parfenov |
Nike | Fort Group |
| Ufa | Ufa | Sergei Semak |
Joma | |
| Ural Yekaterinburg | Yekaterinburg | Aleksandr Tarkhanov |
Joma | Renova, TMK |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg | Roberto Mancini |
Nike | Gazprom |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akhmat |  Rashid Rakhimov |
Mutual consent | 22 May 2017 | pre-season | Oleg Kononov |
22 May 2017[2] |
| Zenit |  Mircea Lucescu |
Fired | 28 May 2017[3] | Roberto Mancini |
1 June 2017[4] | |
| Arsenal | Sergei Kiriakov |
Contract expired | 31 May 2017[5] | Miodrag Božović |
18 June 2017[6] | |
| Rostov |  Ivan Daniliants |
1 June 2017 | Leonid Kuchuk |
9 June 2017[7] | ||
| Rubin |  Javi Gracia |
Mutual consent | 8 June 2017[8] | Kurban Berdyev |
9 June 2017[9] | |
| Anzhi | Aleksandr Grigoryan |
Resigned | 13 August 2017[10] | 15th | Vadim Skripchenko |
14 August 2017[11] |
| Dynamo | Yuriy Kalitvintsev |
Mutual consent | 7 October 2017[12] | 15th | Dmitri Khokhlov |
7 October 2017 |
| Akhmat | Oleg Kononov |
Resigned | 30 October 2017[13] | 9th | Mikhail Galaktionov (caretaker) (permanent) |
30 October 2017 14 December 2017[14] |
| Rostov | Leonid Kuchuk |
Resigned | 6 December 2017[15] | 10th | Dmitri Kirichenko (caretaker) |
6 December 2017[16] |
| Rostov | Dmitri Kirichenko (caretaker) |
Caretaking spell over | 19 December 2017 | 10th | Valeri Karpin |
19 December 2017[17] |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Aleksei Poddubskiy |
Moved to the director of sports position | 20 December 2017[18] | 16th | Rinat Bilyaletdinov |
12 January 2018[19] |
| Amkar | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev |
Resigned | 2 March 2018[20] | 13th | Vadim Evseev (caretaker) |
2 March 2018[21] |
| SKA-Khabarovsk | Rinat Bilyaletdinov |
Mutual consent | 31 March 2018[22] | 16th | Sergei Perednya |
3 April 2018[23] |
| Krasnodar | Igor Shalimov |
Fired | 2 April 2018[24] | 5th | Murad Musayev (caretaker) |
3 April 2018[25] |
| Akhmat | Mikhail Galaktionov |
Resigned | 7 April 2018[26] | 11th | Igor Lediakhov (caretaker) |
7 April 2018[27] |
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.
Promotion and relegation
The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2018–19 season.
The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL teams respectively in two playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2018–19 season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lokomotiv Moscow (C) | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 58 | |
| 3 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 56 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Krasnodar | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] |
| 5 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 46 | 21 | +25 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Ufa | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 43 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 7 | Arsenal Tula | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 42 | |
| 8 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 40 | |
| 9 | Akhmat Grozny | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 39 | |
| 10 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 38 | |
| 11 | Rostov | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 37[b] | |
| 12 | Ural Yekaterinburg | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 37[b] | |
| 13 | Amkar Perm (D) | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 35 | Dissolved after the season[c] |
| 14 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 24[d] | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 15 | Tosno (D) | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 23 | 54 | −31 | 24[d] | Dissolved after the season[e] |
| 16 | SKA-Khabarovsk (R) | 30 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 16 | 55 | −39 | 13 | Relegation to Football National League |
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) Head-to-head away goals; 7) Matches won; 8) Goal difference; 9) Goals scored; 10) Away goals scored.[32]
(C) Champions; (D) Dissolved after the season; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Tosno qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2017–18 Russian Cup. However, since they failed to obtain a UEFA licence, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed to fourth-placed team, the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team was passed to fifth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fifth-placed team was passed to sixth-placed team.
- Head-to-head: Rostov 1–0 Ural, Ural 1–1 Rostov
- On 13 June 2018, FC Amkar Perm announced that the Russian Football Union recalled their 2018–19 season license, making them ineligible for the Russian Premier League or Russian Football National League.[28] On 18 June 2018, club president Gennadi Shilov announced that the club will not register for the third-tier Russian Professional Football League and will be dissolved.[29] As a consequence, Anzhi Makhachkala was not relegated.
- Head-to-head: Anzhi 2–0 Tosno, Tosno 2–2 Anzhi
- On 30 May 2018, Russian Football National League announced that FC Tosno failed in its appeal to obtain the FNL license for the 2018–19 season.[30] On 9 June 2018, the founder of FORT Group (the company that owned the team), Maxim Levchenko, announced that the team is officially dissolved.[31]
Relegation play-offs
The draw for relegation play-offs scheduling took place on 4 May 2018.[33] The kick-off times were announced on 14 May 2018.[34]
First leg
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | 3–0 | Anzhi Makhachkala |
|---|---|---|
Kutyin  25' (pen.), 58'Sarkisov 32' |
Report |
| Amkar Perm | 2–0 | Tambov |
|---|---|---|
| Gol 60' Balanovich 79' |
Report |
Second leg
| Tambov | 0–1 | Amkar Perm |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kostyukov 39' |
Amkar Perm won 3–0 on aggregate and retained their spot in the 2018–19 Russian Premier League; FC Tambov remained in the 2018–19 Russian National Football League.
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 4–3 | Yenisey Krasnoyarsk |
|---|---|---|
| Poku 45' Kalmykov 73' Poluyakhtov 74' 90' |
Report | Obradović 15' Semakin 16' Serderov 84' (pen.) |
Yenisey Krasnoyarsk won 6–4 on aggregate and were promoted to the 2018–19 Russian Premier League; Anzhi Makhachkala were relegated to the 2018–19 Russian National Football League.
On 13 June 2018, FC Amkar Perm announced that the Russian Football Union recalled their 2018–19 season license, making them ineligible for the Russian Premier League or Russian Football National League. The final decision on the club's future will be made on 18 June 2018 at the club's board meeting.[35] As a consequence, Anzhi Makhachkala will not be relegated.[36]
Results
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.
Season statistics
Scoring
Top goalscorers
Last updated: 13 May 2018[37]
Season events
Attendances
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zenit | 659,438 | 53,359 | 30,158 | 43,963 | +136.9%1 |
| 2 | Spartak Moscow | 452,836 | 44,062 | 21,445 | 30,189 | −7.8% |
| 3 | Krasnodar | 375,481 | 34,055 | 17,250 | 25,032 | +44.5% |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 234,080 | 25,916 | 8,016 | 15,605 | +8.0% |
| 5 | Akhmat Grozny | 227,572 | 29,450 | 8,345 | 15,171 | −0.4% |
| 6 | Rostov | 190,947 | 37,483 | 4,252 | 12,730 | +24.2%2 |
| 7 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 190,613 | 26,109 | 6,166 | 12,708 | +20.6% |
| 8 | Arsenal Tula | 178,897 | 18,175 | 7,080 | 11,926 | +9.2% |
| 9 | Rubin Kazan | 145,593 | 25,440 | 3,099 | 9,706 | +0.6%3 |
| 10 | Ural Yekaterinburg | 121,727 | 26,868 | 1,345 | 8,115 | +52.6%4 |
| 11 | Ufa | 103,742 | 12,571 | 3,827 | 6,916 | +1.5% |
| 12 | Dynamo Moscow | 101,929 | 17,133 | 3,250 | 6,795 | +66.2%5 |
| 13 | SKA-Khabarovsk | 99,680 | 14,524 | 2,049 | 6,645 | +78.3%5 |
| 14 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 95,835 | 10,990 | 3,100 | 6,389 | −5.7% |
| 15 | Tosno | 84,805 | 13,665 | 1,310 | 5,654 | +197.1%6 |
| 16 | Amkar Perm | 84,499 | 11,345 | 1,089 | 5,633 | −21.3%7 |
| League total | 3,347,674 | 53,359 | 1,089 | 13,949 | +14.6% |
Source:
Notes:
1: Zenit played most of last season at Petrovsky Stadium.
2: Rostov played its final three home games of the season at Rostov Arena.
3: Rubin Kazan played part of last season at Central Stadium.
4: Ural played its final three home games of the season at Central Stadium.
5: Team played last season in the Russian Football National League.
6: Tosno played one of its home matches at a neutral venue and played last season in the Russian Football National League at Stadion im. Aleksandra Nevskogo.
7: Amkar Perm played two of its home matches at the away team's stadium.