Football Season Guide

Fakel had a pretty solid season as a whole last year and always looked like they aha enough to beat the drop. They still made a late managerial change for a second season in a row, with Igor Cherevchenko taking the reins for the final four games. He is an experienced and capable coach who knows how to cope with the challenges of being a lower-tier side in the Russian Premier League and can get good results while being effective. Fakel's squad looks a beat weakened in terms of quality as some good players like Igor Kalinin, Ruslan Magal and Kiril Suslov are not around any more. There have been some pretty useful additions too, namely Vladimir Ilian up front. Mohamed Brahimi is a decent wide player and can provide some good service. Yet Fakel's squad does look quite limited in midfield and the full-back areas and certainly a few more additions are needed. Overall, nothing too different from last season is expected from Fakel as they will be tough to beat and compact defensively while offering little excitement and flair in the final third. Whether they will have enough to stay clear of the relegation places will go down to a few close games against direct rivals towards the business end of the season.