Zenit Saint Petersburg will bid to increase their lead in the Russian Premier League on Sunday when they host injury-hit champions CSKA Moscow.
Zenit currently top the Premiership table with 48 points from 20 matches, five ahead of CSKA in second. FC Krasnodar sit on third with 38 points.
"Regardless of the situation with injuries, CSKA are a very good team," insisted Zenit manager Andre Villas-Boas.
"They're the champions of Russia, the team that dominated the Russian league recently and whatever line-up they field will be strong because of the experience and the high quality of their players."
Unlike Zenit, who will be able to field a full-strength squad on Sunday, CSKA, who suffered a 1-0 home defeat in the season's first meeting with the Saint Petersburg outfit in November, come into the crucial encounter weakened by the absence of a set of their first-team players.
Playmaker Alan Dzagoev is out for at least a month after sustaining a hip injury in Russia's Euro 2016 qualifier with Montenegro, while the participation of fellow internationals Vasili Berezutski and Georgi Shchennikov, who both suffered minor injuries in the midweek friendly with Kazakhstan, is also in doubt.
"Of course it's very annoying to lose key players ahead of a crucial league match but injuries are the part of the game and we can do nothing about it," CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky said.
"We'll try to find worthy replacements for our leaders. And we're all ready to fight to retain our title."
Meanwhile, FC Krasnodar have an opportunity to gain on the top two sides when they take on strugglers Mordovia Saransk on Saturday.
"Last year we finished fifth and won a place in the Europa League," said Krasnodar manager Oleg Kononov.
"This year we all want to take a step further and to finish in the top three. Our fate is in our hands."
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Saturday
Amkar Perm v Rubin Kazan (0900), Dynamo Moscow v Lokomotiv Moscow (1115), FC Krasnodar v Mordovia Saransk (1345), Spartak Moscow v Kuban Krasnodar (1600)
Sunday
Zenit St Petersburg v CSKA Moscow (1030), Ural Yekaterinburg v Rostov (1245), Ufa v Terek Grozny (1500), Arsenal Tula v Torpedo Moscow (1715)
Source: AFP
