Zenit Saint Petersburg enter the new Russian Premier League season as defending champions after reclaiming the title last term, but this is not a division where one club has run away with things the way PSV or PSG have in other leagues covered in this series. Krasnodar won the title the season before Zenit's return to the top, and Spartak Moscow have spent big to make sure last season's runner-up spot was only a stepping stone. With 16 clubs playing a full home-and-away round robin across 240 matches, the RPL's 2026/27 campaign, which began on 24 July and runs through to 29 May 2027 with a winter break from early December to late February, sets up as a genuine three-way title race behind Zenit's slim favouritism. Odds from 22Bet, Melbet, 1xBet and Mostbet cover four markets this season, and unlike several of Europe's bigger leagues, the gap between first and third here is measured in tenths of an odds point rather than entire tiers of the market.
Russian Premier League 2026/27 — Winner
| Team | Melbet / 1xBet / 22Bet |
|---|---|
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2.11 |
| Krasnodar | 3.64 |
| Spartak Moscow | 4.20 |
| CSKA Moscow | 22.00 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 46.00 |
| Baltika Kaliningrad | 100.00 |
| Dynamo Makhachkala | 100.00 |
| Rodina Moscow | 100.00 |
| Akron Tolyatti | 100.00 |
| Akhmat | 100.00 |
| Fakel Voronezh | 100.00 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 100.00 |
| Orenburg | 100.00 |
| Krylya Sovetov | 100.00 |
| Rostov | 100.00 |
| Rubin Kazan | 100.00 |
Zenit: Favourites, But Not by the Margin the Table Might Suggest
Zenit's price of 2.11 makes them favourites to defend their title, but that number is considerably closer to Krasnodar's 3.64 and Spartak's 4.20 than the typical gap between a European champion and their nearest rival in this series. Zenit strengthened their attack by signing Brazilian forward Felipe Augusto from Trabzonspor in a deal worth up to €20 million — the 22-year-old scored 15 goals in 40 appearances last season and signed a four-year contract with an option for a fifth — while the club also parted ways with Jhon Duran, whose departure removes one of the more high-profile individual talents from Zenit's squad heading into the new campaign. That trade-off, adding a proven young finisher while losing a marquee individual name, is a large part of why the market treats Zenit's title defence as genuinely contestable rather than a formality.
Krasnodar and Spartak: The Two Clubs Closing the Gap
Krasnodar, at 3.64, won the title two seasons ago and have reinforced their squad with striker Dmitry Vorobyov, signed from Lokomotiv Moscow for around €7.3 million, alongside midfielder Christian from Cruzeiro for approximately €9.6 million — both incoming deals aimed at adding proven end product to a squad that already has a recent title pedigree. Spartak Moscow, priced at 4.20, made the most eye-catching individual signing of the RPL's summer window, bringing in forward Mirlind Daku from Rubin Kazan for a reported €11 million alongside a contract renewal for midfielder Kevin Pina through to 2029 and the free-transfer arrival of experienced defender Georgiy Dzhikiya from Antalyaspor. With Zenit, Krasnodar and Spartak all within roughly two points of each other in the outright market, this looks like the most genuinely competitive top three in the RPL in recent seasons, a marked contrast to the wide favourite gaps seen in several of Europe's bigger leagues this year.
Russian Premier League 2026/27 — Top Goalscorer
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alexander Sobolev | 4.55 |
| Maksim Glushenkov | 4.60 |
| Mirlind Daku | 6.60 |
| Jhon Cordoba | 8.60 |
| Konstantin Tyukavin | 12.00 |
| Manfred Ugalde | 15.00 |
| Nikita Krivtsov | 15.00 |
| Brayan Gil Hurtado | 20.00 |
| Dmitri Vorobyov | 30.00 |
| Felipe Augusto da Silva | 30.00 |
| Artem Maksimenko | 30.00 |
| Hamid Agalarov | 48.00 |
| Ezequiel Barco | 50.00 |
| Ivan Oblyakov | 75.00 |
A Genuinely Open Race Behind the Two Favourites
Alexander Sobolev and Maksim Glushenkov head this market at 4.55-4.60, a tight enough gap that neither can be considered a clear standalone favourite the way Erling Haaland or Harry Kane are priced in their respective leagues elsewhere in this series. Mirlind Daku's price of 6.60 arrives directly off the back of his club-record move to Spartak, giving the Kosovan forward a fresh platform after a productive spell at Rubin Kazan, while Jhon Cordoba's 8.60 reflects his status as last season's top scorer with 17 goals — a genuine returning threat rather than a name coasting on reputation alone.
New Arrivals Enter the Market as Longer-Priced Contenders
Both of the RPL's headline summer signings, Krasnodar's Dmitry Vorobyov and Zenit's Felipe Augusto, share identical odds of 30.00 in their first season adapting to Russian top-flight football, a price that reflects genuine goalscoring pedigree — Felipe Augusto scored 15 goals in 40 games last season in Turkey — tempered by the uncertainty that comes with any player settling into a new league and a new supporting cast. Their relative positioning in this market is worth tracking as the season develops, since a strong scoring start from either would be one of the clearest early signals of how well their respective transfers are working out.
Russian Premier League 2026/27 — 15th–16th Place
| Team | Melbet / 1xBet / 22Bet |
|---|---|
| Fakel Voronezh | 1.95 |
| Akron Tolyatti | 2.40 |
| Rodina Moscow | 2.50 |
| Krylya Sovetov | 4.00 |
| Orenburg | 5.00 |
| Dynamo Makhachkala | 10.00 |
| Rostov | 19.00 |
Fakel Voronezh Carry the Shortest Odds by a Clear Margin
Fakel Voronezh's price of 1.95 makes them the clearest favourite in any of this preview's four markets, and their history explains why: the club was relegated from the RPL as recently as the 2024/25 season before returning, and a club with that kind of recent yo-yo pattern typically enters a new top-flight campaign with a squad still calibrated for a level below. Akron Tolyatti and Rodina Moscow follow closely at 2.40-2.50, both sides whose survival will likely be decided by a handful of matches against the other clubs occupying this same bottom tier of the table rather than results against the division's stronger sides.
A Meaningful Gap Separates the Bottom Four from the Rest
Krylya Sovetov's price of 4.00 marks a noticeable step up from the three shortest-priced clubs above them, while Orenburg at 5.00 and Dynamo Makhachkala at 10.00 represent progressively longer odds within what is still a compact seven-club market. Rostov, at 19.00, are priced as by far the safest of the seven clubs listed here, suggesting the market sees a meaningful gap between Rostov's squad and resources and those of the shorter-priced sides directly above them in this table.
Russian Premier League 2026/27 — Top 3
| Team | Melbet / 1xBet / 22Bet |
|---|---|
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1.02 |
| Krasnodar | 1.13 |
| Spartak Moscow | 1.17 |
| CSKA Moscow | 4.50 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 9.00 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 11.00 |
| Baltika Kaliningrad | 25.00 |
| Akhmat | 30.00 |
| Rubin Kazan | 30.00 |
This market makes the tightness at the top of the outright race even more explicit: Zenit, Krasnodar and Spartak are all priced at odds-on for a top-three finish, essentially confirming what the outright market already implied — this season's real competition among the traditional three is about which order they finish in, not whether all three make the top of the table.
CSKA Moscow Stand Alone as the Clearest Fourth Force
CSKA Moscow's price of 4.50 for a top-three finish, compared with 22.00 for the title itself, places them in a similar market position to several "best of the rest" clubs seen elsewhere in this series — capable of gate-crashing the traditional top three on their day, but not seriously fancied to win the league outright. The gap between CSKA and Dynamo Moscow at 9.00 is considerable, suggesting the market sees CSKA as genuinely closer to the established top three than to the rest of the chasing pack, including their fellow Moscow club.
Summer Transfer Window: The Business Shaping the Season
The RPL's 2026 summer transfer window has been defined by all three traditional heavyweights making targeted, position-specific signings rather than any single club dominating the market.
Zenit balance a marquee arrival against a notable departure. Felipe Augusto's move from Trabzonspor for up to €20 million was the standout incoming deal of Zenit's summer, bringing in a 22-year-old forward who scored 15 goals in 40 appearances last season on a four-year contract with a club option for a fifth. That investment was offset by the departure of Jhon Duran, whose exit removes a significant individual talent from the squad even as Zenit's overall business this summer has been read as a like-for-like refresh of the attacking line rather than a step backward. Live pricing on Zenit's title defence throughout the season is available at 1xBet.
Spartak make the window's most expensive single signing. Mirlind Daku's reported €11 million move from Rubin Kazan stands as the RPL's most notable individual transfer fee this summer, and it arrived alongside a long-term contract renewal for Kevin Pina through 2029 and the free-transfer signing of experienced defender Georgiy Dzhikiya from Antalyaspor — business that suggests Spartak are building for sustained competitiveness at the top of the table rather than a single push. Current Spartak pricing across all four markets can be tracked at Mostbet.
Krasnodar reinvest around a title-winning core. Dmitry Vorobyov's arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow for around €7.3 million and Christian's move from Cruzeiro for approximately €9.6 million both target end product in the final third, building on a squad that already has the recent experience of winning the title two seasons ago. Updated Krasnodar odds across the title and top-three markets are available at Melbet.
The bottom of the table shapes up around one club's recent relegation history. Fakel Voronezh's short relegation odds directly reflect the club's own recent trajectory in and out of the RPL, a pattern that has repeatedly affected the same handful of clubs occupying the bottom of this market in recent seasons. Odds tracking the RPL's relegation battle throughout the campaign are available at 22Bet, with 1Win also carrying live markets for the title race and top-three finish covered above.
