Football Season Guide

Ural had a very nervous ending to last season as a series of losses saw them nearly go down, only for Orenburg to finish just below them in the final reckoning. It was something of a lucky escape for what was a baffling Bumblebees outfit in the spring. They looked genuinely exciting in the first month of action in 2017 but then dropped like a stone after losing the Russian Cup final and nearly finished in the relegation places. Veteran coach, Aleksandr Tarkhanov, stays in charge and will try to build on the positives, with Vladimir Iljin hopefully maintaining his purple patch in front of goal and Eric Bicfalvi continuing his progress as an excellent attacking playmaker behind him. There are some serious issues to be solved at the back and in central midfield and it remains to be seen whether new additions Adessoye Oyewole and Yaroslav Godzyur will help with that. They are both decent and reliable players but on the wrong side of 30 and one cannot help but be underwhelmed by the team's transfer work so far. Tarkhanov also took a chance on striker Igor Portnyagin, who completely went off the radar after joining Lokomotiv Moscow on loan, and it remains to be seen whether he will offer much of an impact. Ural look like a mediocre side that has the odd decent players, mostly in the final third. They look in a decent position to compete for survival but are unlikely to challenge for anything more than a place in the lower mid-table with a squad that is clearly bereft of much depth and varied options.