Russian Premier League announces schedule of second part of 2011-12 season

The Russian Premier League has announced the schedule of its second phase.

This season in the Russian league consists of two parts due to the transition to the more widespread ‘autumn-to-spring’ system from the country’s traditional ‘spring-to-autumn’. The first part, which included the traditional 30 matchdays between all the 16 teams, with home and away games against each other, ended this Sunday. In the second one the teams will be divided into two groups – Group A for the top eight teams and Group B for the bottom eight.

The top eight will contend for the league title and places in the European cups, while the bottom eight will try to avoid relegation (15th and 16th will face direct relegation, 13th and 14th will compete in relegation/promotion playoffs against the third- and fourth-placed teams of the lower division). In both groups the teams will play each other in two legs, home and away, retaining the points gained during the first part of the championship.

The first two matchdays will be played this autumn, the rest of the fixtures will resume on March 3 and 4, 2012.

Matchday 31 (November 19-20)

Group A

Zenit St. Petersburg – Anzhi Makhachkala

CSKA Moscow – Rubin Kazan

Dynamo Moscow – Kuban Krasnodar

Spartak Moscow – Lokomotiv Moscow

Group B

Rostov Rostov-on-Don – Tom Tomsk

FC Krasnodar – Spartak Nalchik

Terek Grozny – Krylia Sovetov Samara

Volga Nizhny Novgorod – Amkar Perm

Matchday 32 (November 26-27)

Group A

Zenit St. Petersburg – Locomotiv Moscow

Kuban Krasnodar – Spartak Moscow

Rubin Kazan – Dynamo Moscow

Anzhi Makhachkala – CSKA Moscow

Group B

Rostov Rostov-on-Don – Amkar Perm

Krylia Sovetov Samara – Volga Nizhny Novgorod

Spartak Nalchik – Terek Grozny

Tom Tomsk – FC Krasnodar