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One of the newest established leagues in Europe comes in the form of the Russian Premier League. It was rebranded to its current name in 2001 and has since become one of the most popular leagues on the continent to bet on. While it lacks star power in terms of Russian Premier League players compared to the other major leagues, it remains a hugely popular betting choice for bettors given its unpredictable nature.

Russian Premier League History

The Russian Premier League was rebranded to the name it is now in 2001, as it replaced in previous Top League, which was formed in 1992. The history of the league is relatively interesting, as the Top League was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Its inaugural season was made up of six Soviet Top League teams, as well as 14 teams that competed in lower divisions. However, the number of teams involved was soon cut, with just 18 taking part in 1993 and then 16 the following year.

The league has tried on a number of occasions to increase the number of teams, but both experiments in 1996 and 1997 were judged to be failures. The league was once again rebranded with a new logo ahead of the 2018-19 season. But, the progression of the league has stalled in recent months, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant that no European qualifying spots would be allowed in the Russian Premier League. That also led to Spartak Moscow being disqualified from the Europa League.

How To Bet On the Russian Premier League

Betting on the Russian Premier League fixtures throughout the season can be done at the leading soccer betting sites. Due to its unpredictable nature, it has often been a very popular league to bet on, and that continues in this modern day. Some of the most popular soccer bet types available for the Russian Premier League are explained below.

Match Result

The match result is the most popular betting market available to bettors online for fixtures in the Russian Premier League. Just as is the case with the leading European leagues, bettors will need to correctly predict the team that wins the match in order to get returns in this market. If the selection is correct, then the returns will immediately be added to your account.

Handicap Betting

There is often a difference in quality between the Russian Premier League teams at the top of the standings and those at the bottom. Therefore, a popular betting option when these fixtures are played is the handicap market. The favoured side in the betting will start with a disadvantage in the betting, and bettors will need to assess whether they will overcome that difference. For example, Zenit St Petersburg maybe -1.5 in a fixture against Ural. In order for Zenit to return winnings in this market, then they must win by two clear goals.

Total Cards Betting

A lot of teams in the Russian Premier League struggle with discipline, which means that there tend to be a lot of cards in fixtures throughout the season. Bettors can wager on the total number of cards in a specific fixture based on the benchmark set by the sportsbook. For example, a sportsbook may set the benchmark at 4.5. Here, the bettor will wager on over if they believe that there will be at least five cards in total in the fixture.

Russian Premier League Teams & Format

The Russian Premier League follows the same format as many of the other major leagues around Europe. Teams play against each twice during the course of the season, with each team getting the home advantage on one occasion against every rival in the league. The team that finishes at the top of the Russian Premier League table is crowned champions. That would also be enough to see them qualify for the Champions League group stages, but the UEFA ban in place means that won’t be the case for the foreseeable future.

The teams that finish in the bottom two places are immediately relegated to the Football National League, while teams that finish in 13th and 14th face off in the relegation playoffs. These teams compete over two legs against the teams that finished the Football National League in third and fourth place. The winning teams from each tie then compete in the following season’s Russian Premier League.

Russian Premier League Records

Since the Russian Premier League was formed in 2001, only five teams have won the top-flight title. Zenit St Petersburg is the most successful team in the history of the Russian Premier League, as they have been crowned champions on seven occasions. CSKA Moscow is the second-most successful club, having been crowned champions on six occasions. The only other teams to have won the top prize are Lokomotiv Moscow, Rubin Kazan, and Spartak Moscow.

Dmitri Ananko holds the esteemed record of winning the Russian top-flight title on most occasions as a player, as he won nine titles between 1992 and 2001. CSKA Moscow legend Igor Akinfeev is the player to have appeared most in the Russian Premier League, as he has played on 514 occasions, and continues to be their number-one goalkeeper to this day. Meanwhile, the highest scorer in the history of the Russian Premier League is Artem Dzyuba. The striker has currently scored 149 goals for Spartak Moscow, Rostov, and Zenit St Petersburg.

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