The frost hasn’t arrived in Krasnoyarsk yet, but you can feel the bite in the air as Enisey plot their ambush for high-flying Spartak Kostroma this Sunday at Tsentralnyi Stadion. Two sides at opposite ends of the table, but with everything to play for: Enisey fighting to keep their heads above water, Spartak Kostroma with one eye on promotion and the other scanning nervously for slip-ups that could turn their dream into a nightmare. The beauty—and brutality—of the First League is that nobody’s fate is sealed in mid-October, not with three points on the line in a clash as unpredictable as this.

Let’s start with the mood in the Enisey camp. Sitting thirteenth after fourteen games isn’t where this club imagined itself a year ago, but there are glimmers of hope. The 4-2 away demolition of Volga Ulyanovsk last week was a statement win—aggressive pressing, clinical finishing, and a brace from Astemir Khashkulov that reminded everyone why he’s still the centerpiece of this attack. Khashkulov, now with four goals in his last five matches, is riding a wave of confidence rarely seen in a side that averages just a goal per game over their last ten outings. He’s the man who finds time and space where others only see walls of defenders.

Don’t sleep on Andrea Chukanov either. His late first-half equalizer last weekend injected life into a team that has too often looked short of ideas in the final third. What’s changing? Enisey’s willingness to play vertically, to stretch the field, and use the thunderous home support at Tsentralnyi as a twelfth man. Their last ten home games show a coin-flip pattern—four wins, four losses—but sources tell me the dressing room senses a turning point coming.

Across the aisle, Spartak Kostroma keep churning out results that scream “contender.” Eight wins, five draws, just a single loss—formidable numbers by any standard. But look a little closer and you’ll see the gears grinding. Their last four league games have ended in draws, with goals suddenly coming at a premium. Aleksandr Saplinov’s name is written all over their late heroics, but for a side that averaged nearly two goals per game early in the campaign, recent matches have seen Spartak look more cautious, more methodical, less surgical in the final third.

Still, the visitors boast one of the stingiest back lines in the league. It’s not just about personnel—though Sergey Bugriev’s command and Anatoliy Nemchenko’s anticipation have been crucial—it’s about a system built on suffocation. Press high, win the ball early, force turnovers, then spring Egor Nazarenko on the counter. Nazarenko’s brace at Chayka last month was textbook: get vertical in transition, exploit second balls, and punish mistakes with ruthless efficiency.

The chess match starts in midfield. Enisey’s Lukas Ratković and Artem Pogosov will need to outthink and outwork Spartak’s trio in the engine room, because, as scouts tell me, once Spartak start controlling tempo through Gharibyan and Pylypchuk, they strangle games to death. It’s about cutting off supply to Saplinov up front—deny him space, and you cut the head off the snake.

But Spartak aren’t coming to Siberia just to manage the game, not with their eyes fixed on automatic promotion. They know a stumble here hands the initiative back to the chasing pack. The pressure is palpable, and those four consecutive draws have planted seeds of doubt. Do they stick to their clinical, low-risk style—or do they throw caution aside and seize all three points? Sources inside the club suggest there’s been an emphasis on faster ball movement and more direct attacks in training this week, trying to shake off what’s started to look like a draw habit.

What’s at stake? For Enisey, a win means daylight from the drop zone and belief restored—momentum that can save a season. For Spartak Kostroma, anything less than victory is an open door for their rivals to close the gap at the summit. These are the matches that define championships, where the line between hero and scapegoat is razor-thin.

Look for Enisey to start fast, hoping to disrupt Spartak’s rhythm with a high press, fueled by home supporters desperate for an upset. If Khashkulov or Chukanov get time on the ball in advanced areas, the visitors could be in trouble. But Spartak’s tactical flexibility—the ability to shift between a back four and back three, to flood the midfield when under pressure—makes them a nightmare to break down. If Saplinov gets a sniff in transition, he won’t need a second invitation.

Prediction? This one’s poised for drama. Spartak’s pedigree and composure under fire make them slight favorites, but nobody in Kostroma is sleeping easy tonight. In this league, on a cold October afternoon in Krasnoyarsk, reputations count for nothing. One mistake could swing the season. And don’t be surprised if the underdogs turn the title race upside down. The stakes are high, the margins paper-thin—and everything is still to play for.