The Russian Football Championship 2017-2018 is eagerly awaited by millions of domestic fans. The upcoming draw is significant, as it will take place on the eve, which for the first time in history will pass on the territory of a sovereign Russian Federation... The games of the national championship will be held according to the "autumn-spring" system, like the previous 5 seasons, but the second part of the draw is likely to be much shorter.

The start of the Russian Football Championship 2017-2018 is scheduled for July 15, 2017, and the end date is May 13, 2018. The fact is that the coach of the Russian national team Stanislav Cherchesov asked the Director General of the RFU Alexander Aliyev to hold the last round of the championship no later than a month before the Mundial. This would allow the players to prepare more thoroughly for the main planetary championship. The official went to meet the interests of the national team and the preliminary end of the championship was shifted from June 13 to May 13, 2018.

As for the rest, the regulations of the Russian Football Championship have not changed: 16 teams will take part in the competition, which will play two matches against each other (at the home stadium and on the opponent's field). The winner of the competition automatically gets the right to play on group stage the most prestigious club tournament in Europe - the Champions League. The second line also guarantees participation in the Champions League without qualifications. The bronze medalist of the championship will have to go through a sieve of play-offs from the third qualifying round... The clubs that took the final fourth and fifth lines in standings, are sent to the second most prestigious club tournament of the Old World - the Europa League.

The main task for all teams taking part in the Russian Championship 2017-2018 will be a place above 15. The last two lines (that is, 15 and 16) will lead to relegation to the country's second strongest football division - FNL. Hardly anyone wants to travel through the villages and villages of the country, play in rain, heat, snow, so many clubs will strive to take at least 14 or 13 lines. They provide an opportunity to fight for the right to stay in the Premier League in play-offs with squads from the FNL, who took 3rd and 4th places.

The calendar of the 7th round of the Russian football championship is as follows:

Who's new?

In the Russian Championship 2017-2018, there will be three newcomers at once:

• Dynamo (Moscow);
• Tosno (Leningrad Region);
• SKA (Khabarovsk).

All of these football teams have replaced the Wings of the Soviets, Tom and Orenburg that have departed in the FNL. The last club lost in the play-offs to SKA from Khabarovsk.

As the starting rounds of the Premier League show, all newcomers will have to wage a desperate struggle for survival. Dynamo have the most preferable chances of maintaining their registration in the country's football elite. The team scored 4 points in 5 rounds, however, they played most of the meetings with strong opponents.

"Tosno" was able to score only three credits, having won against a direct competitor for the saving 12th place - Tula "Arsenal" - with a score of 1: 2. Most of the club's fans are worried about the low performance of the attack: only 3 goals were scored in 5 rounds, and Dmitry Parfenov's wards concede at least one goal in each match. Despite this, experts note the progress in the team's actions, which inspires optimism among local fans.

SKA (Khabarovsk) looks the weakest. If it were not for the home victory over Anji (2: 0), the team would have had a fat zero in the graph of the points scored, however, as in the graph goals scored... Labor victoria in the 5th round shows that Khabarovsk residents have character, and this is already a lot on the way to maintaining a residence permit in the Premier League.

Read more about the newcomers to the tournament.

Title contenders

The list of contenders for the title would be incomplete without CSKA. The team, after Viktor Goncharenko came to the coaching bridge, learns to play with three central defenders and gradually pulls the youth into the main team. The past season turned out to be crumpled, but in the future rally the fans expect only the championship from CSKA. The main thing for the club is to find a good striker. Although Vitinho is trying, he still has to grow and grow before the glory of Wagner Love.

Thus, the Russian Football Championship 2017-2018, the schedule of which was drawn up taking into account the Mundial, will bring fans a lot of positive emotions, uncompromising battles and spectacular moments. Don't miss the start of the tournament on July 13, 2017.

For a selection of the best goals of the Russian Football Championship of the 2016-2017 season, see the following video:

Which will be held in Russia for the first time in history. As a result, the 26th season in the top division will be tight and will end 2-3 weeks earlier than usual. As a result physical training, especially in the spring part of the championship, comes to the fore, as teams often have to play two matches per week, not counting the Russian Cup.

The RFPL 2017-2018 has not undergone major changes in terms of the format and the scoring system. The only caveat will be the opportunity to play in the Champions League qualification for the team that took the third place in the table by the results of the championship. The fight in the championship will only get fiercer, because the chance to play in one of the most prestigious tournaments Of the Old World - this is both solid bonuses and good financial support for the club.

16 teams will continue to play in the top football division in the coming season. The start of the RFPL is scheduled for July 13, 2017, and the competition will end on May 13, 2018. For the sixth season in a row, the Russian Championship is held according to the "autumn-spring" system, which implies a long winter break. The tournament will be divided into two parts:

• 19 rounds will run from July 13 to December 19, 2017;
• 11 rounds will be played from March 4 to May 13, 2018.

The winner of the tournament automatically gets into the group stage of the Champions League, the second and third lines also guarantee participation in this tournament... The teams ranked fourth and fifth in the 2017-2018 RFPL will take part in the second most prestigious club competition - the Europa League.

The teams that are on the last two lines in the table (that is, 15 and 16) are automatically transferred to the division with a rank below -. Positions from 13 to 14 give the right to fight for the right to remain in the country's football elite with the third and fourth teams of the FNL. There are two games (on the home field and on the opponent's arena), according to the results of which it is determined who will play in the next season of the Premier League, and who will go to travel around the small towns and villages of our vast Motherland. If during regular time of play-offs the winner cannot be identified, two additional halves of 15 minutes each are assigned, and then a penalty shootout.

The schedule of matches of the 13th round of the RFPL 2017-2018 is as follows:

The tournament table of the Premier League after 12 played rounds looks like this:

New clubs in the RFPL

At the end of the 2016-2017 season, a number of teams fought for the right to remain in the top football division. The most unlucky ones were “Tom” and “Wings of the Soviets”, who were relegated to the FNL from the last two places in the table. Orenburg and Tula Arsenal took part in the play-offs, but only the last squad managed to keep their registration in the elite. SKA-Khabarovsk knocked Orenburg out of the Premier League in a penalty shootout and will fight the best football teams in the country in the coming season. In addition, the following teams were added to the Russian Championship:

• Dynamo (Moscow);
• "Tosno" (Leningrad region).

As for SKA-Khabarovsk, the club probably did not expect to enter the Russian Premier League in 2017-2018. This summer, 9 footballers who were involved in entering the Russian Championship left the team at once. Most of them have ended their contracts, which the bosses of the Far Eastern club did not renew. So far, only midfielder Savichev from Spartak-2 has been bought to replace the departed players. So far, SKA-Khabarovsk is located dangerously close to the relegation zone, and it is not possible to successfully oppose skilled opponents from the Premier League with only one youth in the team. According to experts, in order to be guaranteed to stay in the elite Russian football, the club needs to score a minimum of 30 points. It is not yet clear how SKA-Khabarovsk will do this, but there is still time to correct the situation, and the fans are waiting for a clear game from the players.

The legendary Moscow Dynamo, after an inglorious departure from the Russian Championship in the 2015-2016 season, won the FNL and returned to the elite. Despite financial difficulties, new contracts were signed with all the key players. In addition, forward Wanderson was purchased from Krasnodar to strengthen the attack. Of the significant purchases of the blue and white, we also note the midfielder Sow from Kayserispor, defender Shunich from Stuttgart, striker Panchenko, the rights to which were bought from the capital. Obviously, in the new RFPL draw, Yuri Kolitvintsev's wards set themselves the highest tasks, but they will hardly be able to swing at the top three. The team has a serious crisis that pushed it into the relegation zone. The situation was aggravated by a demarche of fans who refused to support the club indefinitely. In such a situation, Dynamo will have to show their character, otherwise at the end of the championship they will again have to pack their bags for the second strongest division.

FC Tosno has become one of the most active newsmakers of the transfer market. The team strengthened itself with several inexpensive, but quite competitive players in the Premier League. For example, the goalkeeper's line was completely updated: Gutor, Yurchenko, Oparin - now it's not scary for the team from the Leningrad Region to go beyond the last line. Forward Vukushevich, transferred from Greuther-Furth, and Melkadze, on loan from Spartak, will play in the attack at Tosno. The defensive line and the middle of the field have been significantly updated: here Tosno also has no problems. The club's management, making such solid acquisitions, probably counted on at least the top ten in the standings, but the reality turned out to be harsher. The team did not manage to achieve the intended goal, and after 12 rounds it is in the play-off zone.

Title contenders

Unlike, where at least six teams claim the first line, in the Premier League this number is much smaller. If not for the championship, then on the top lines in the tournament RFPL table The following teams will definitely apply for 2017-2018:

• CSKA Moscow (Moscow);
• "Spartak Moscow);
• Krasnodar
• Zenit (St. Petersburg).

St. Petersburg "Zenith" is seriously aiming at the championship in the upcoming Premier League draw. After an unsuccessful performance in the 2016-2017 season, when the team won only third place, the club's management made dramatic changes. Firstly, Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu was fired, and he was replaced by Roberto Mancini, experienced in his work in the leading clubs of Europe. Secondly, Zenit spared no money to strengthen it. Obviously, with such significant financial injections, the bosses of the team from the banks of the Neva are counting on both a successful performance in the Europa League and another title in the main football division of Russia.

In the offseason, the army team did not make any significant acquisitions, but extended contracts with key players (Ignashevich and Fernandez). Obviously, CSKA thinks that proven footballers are better than dubious reinforcements. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to get a hammer-in striker for Viktor Goncharenko's squad. The bet is on Vitinho, who, although he added in recent times, but it is obvious that in important matches it is "eaten" by tenacious defenders. As a result, the Russian championship and the Champions League have to play with the same squad. This affects the game of Viktor Goncharenko's charges, who have so far secured the fourth line of the standings.

The current champion of the RFPL 2016-2017, Spartak, was systematically preparing to defend the title. Rumors about the transfer of coach Massimo Carrera have been dispelled: the Italian specialist will work at least until the end of the season. It is almost impossible to predict how Spartak will perform in the current season, since the club will have to play on two fronts - in the domestic league and in the group stage of the Champions League. At the moment, neither there nor there the red and white have not been able to demonstrate their full potential. IN RFPL club located in sixth place, and the gap from the first "Zenith", has already reached 11 points.

Krasnodar's game this season pleases the fans. Igor Shalimov's charges were second for a long time, and only offensive defeats in the last two rounds pushed the team to the third line. “Bulls” need to urgently work on mistakes and systematically prepare for each match, especially since the club is not burdened with performances in the international arena. In the current Premier League draw, Krasnodar, under a certain set of circumstances, is capable of hitting the top three, which will allow it to play in the Champions League for the first time in 2018-2019.

"Dark horses" RFPL

In addition to CSKA, Spartak, Zenit, the Premier League has several teams that are capable of shooting and getting a wedge in the fight for the top three. The list of such clubs should include:

• Rostov;
• "Akhmat"
• "Rubin Kazan);
• Lokomotiv (Moscow).

After a relatively unsuccessful performance last year in the Russian championship, fundamental changes have taken place in Rostov. Leonid Kuchuk came to the coaching bridge, after which a thorough cleaning of the squad began. So, for example, Noboa was sold to Zenit, they did not renew contracts with Cesar Navas, Dzhanaev, Devich. They were replaced by seven new players (Makeev, Parshivlyuk, Abaev, Pesyakov) and, according to rumors, it is planned to buy 3-4 more players to strengthen them. In general, we will no longer see the former Rostov: a renewed team appeared in front of the fans. Kuchuk quickly managed to establish team interactions, and Rostov ended up in seventh place with a minimal lag behind the European Cup zone.

Akhmat's coaching staff changed in the offseason: Oleg Kononov was appointed as the helmsman, but this did not bring stability. At the start of the championship, the club issued a protracted streak of four defeats, which did not allow them to rise above fifth place. Akhmat's line-up is combat-ready, so if there are no slumps in the game, the team can count on getting into the Europa League at the end of the 2017-2018 championship.

Kazan "Rubin" in the offseason also changed the head coach. Instead of the failed past championship Kurban Berdyev came to Javier Gracia. Strengthening the squad was insignificant - only Ozdoev, Granat and a number of little-known football players were bought. If we consider the prospects of the club in the top division, they are rather vague: the team from the first rounds taught its fans to be inconsistent. Most likely, in the current draw, Rubin will remain a middle peasant, and the fruits of the work of one of the best trainers Russia will show up next season.

Unlike Rubin, Moscow's Lokomotiv, thanks to their victory in the Russian Cup this season, will represent the country in the Europa League. To fight on two fronts, the "railroad workers" had too short a bench, so to strengthen in the offseason they extended the lease with striker Ari, returned defender Shishkin from the lease at Krasnodar and signed a full-fledged contract with midfielder Denisov. Loko has excellent chances to break into the top three, especially since great game Demonstrated by the Miranchuk brothers, Manuel Fernandes, Guilherme. The result of well-coordinated work coaching staff and footballers became the intermediate second line in the Premier League.

Fight for survival

In addition to SKA-Khabarosk, there are several other teams in the elite of Russian football, which experts ranked among the outsiders of the championship. The following teams will fight for the right to stay in the RFPL in 2018-2019:

• Anji;
• "Tosno";
• "Dynamo";
• SKA-Khabarovsk;
• Arsenal (Tula).

About Dynamo, Khabarovsk and Tosno were mentioned earlier, but Anji should be discussed separately. The team from Makhachkala did not play well at the start of the tournament, and only with the arrival of Vadim Skripchenko on the coaching bridge, the players began to show a solid game. Two draws with Spartak and Zenit set the local fans in a positive mood, but the team still has a lot of work to get out of the relegation zone.

In Tula "Arsenal", which won the right to remain in the first division in the last Premier League draw in the joints, was replaced Main coach... Miodrag Bozovic is no stranger to pulling out football teams from the bottom of the standings, and it looks like in the current draw the Serbian specialist will have to show all his rescue skills again. To rely on the coaching genius of Bozovic is at least dangerous: you can even be below the play-off zone.

Interesting facts about the RFPL 2017-2018

It must be amusing to find out a few facts about the Premier League:

• in the new drawing, the RFPL will be “re-branded”;
• football club "Terek" (Grozny) was renamed to "Akhmat";
• the league's management will actively promote the RFPL brand abroad;
• RFU seriously thought about tightening the limit for legionnaires up to 5 players;
• the number of clubs in the top division may be reduced to 14 (but not earlier than 2018).

Although football in Russia is represented not only by the Premier League, which is scheduled to start on July 13, 2017, the most interesting events will take place here. This tournament is not as spectacular as, for example, the German championship, but in it the teams sometimes demonstrate a high-quality game, worthy of the fans' attention. Don't miss the start of a competition that promises to be exciting, uncompromising and unpredictable.

For more information about the stadiums of the teams participating in the Premier League 2016-2017, see the following video:

Another season in the top division Russian Football Championship hosted by the Russian Football Premier League(RFPL), began on July 15, 2017 and ended on May 13, 2018.

Premier League standings 2017/2018

Standings Help: AND- games, IN- winnings, H- draws, NS- defeat, M- goals scored and conceded, O- glasses.

Premier League top scorers

Quincy Promes (Spartak) - 15 (3 from a penalty), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar) - 14 (3), Jefferson Farfan (Lokomotiv) - 10 (0), Vitinho (CSKA) - 10 (2), Victor Klasson (Krasnodar) - 100).

Adults and children can comfortably play football at the Football Time sports arena, which has a modern world-class infrastructure.

Key dates of the 2017/2018 season

In the match for the Russian Super Cup, in which the last season champion Spartak and the Russian Cup winner Lokomotiv met, the red and white won (2: 1).

Zenit met with Spartak in the 4th round and won a major victory over the principal rival (5: 1). The fight in Moscow took place on November 27 within the 18th round and ended in a 3: 1 victory for the hosts.

Round 6 game between CSKA and reigning champion The Premier League ended with a 2: 1 victory for the army club. The return leg took place on the Spartak field on December 10 and ended in a 3-0 win for the hosts.

The first meeting of the army and Zenit players in the framework of the Russian football championship took place in Moscow on October 22 and ended in a goalless draw. The return game in St. Petersburg within the 28th round also ended in a goalless draw.

Lokomotiv secured the championship in the match of the 29th round, beating Zenit at home with a score of 1: 0.

The final of the Russian Football Cup took place on May 9, 2018. Tosno beat Avangard Kursk 2: 1 in the decisive match.