This is a “must have” pick even if the value is hardly there on the main -0.5 line. Definitely, to be on the safe side, look for the -0.25 handicap closer to kick off as the odds may get better.

What makes Sochi a bet on Monday is the situation Nizhniy Novgorod find themselves in before the season.

Newly promoted club was promised a significant budget raise before the campaign in the Premier League, but eventually never got a sponsorship deal. Nizhniy Novgorod region Senator has disappeared off radars and seems unwilling to provide support. As a result, NN was the only side not to go abroad for a proper training camp. Instead they stayed in hometown and it had a significant impact on their friendlies - they managed to organize just 3 (2 against local mediocre noname opponents) and then the final game in a nearby Moscow against CSKA (1-2).

On top of having no friendlies, Nizhniy Novgorod failed to do any good business on the transfer market. Salary debts had forced a lot of players (8 former regulars) that won promotion for the club to leave in search of better life. In turn, Nizhniy signed mainly Division 1 level replacements like FC Orenburg winger Tkachuk, Lokomotiv Moscow II striker Suleymanov, fullback Penchikov from Tom Tomsk with a few former bench-warmers goalkeeper Nigmatullin (Arsenal Tula), Mogilevets (Khimki) and Kozlov (Rostov).

As things stand now, quality wise Nizhniy has basically remained as they were last season and sit confidently bottom of the league with the shortest and lowest priced squad - 5 millions behind 2nd from bottom Khimki.

Finally, the game will be held at an empty stadium due to C-19 restrictions and the team is managed by a highly inexperienced manager Kerzhakov, who took over in summer after a short spell at Tom Tomsk (who finished in relegation zone in Russia’s 2nd division).

With so many reasons to bet against Nizhniy Novgorod, it does not matter much who they face at this stage of the season. The promoted side is destined to have a very tough start to the campaign for all the problems stated above.

Sochi have already kicked their 2021/22 season off with a win in European Conference League against Azerbaijan minnows Keshla (3-0). They’ve lost some quality material over summer, however, still remain a decent “manager team” with a recognizable football style.

Unless Nizhniy Novgorod find a sponsor and solve their rapidly growing debts, I will be happy to bet against them on weekly basis.

联赛开赛前，诺夫哥罗德曾承诺要大幅提高俱乐部的预算，但最终未能达成赞助协议。因此，诺夫哥罗德是唯一没有出国进行正规训练营的球队。相反，他们留在了家乡，这对他们的友谊赛产生了重大影响——他们成功地组织了3场比赛(2场对当地平庸无名的对手)，然后在附近的莫斯科对阵中央陆军(1-2)。

除了没有友谊赛，下诺夫哥罗德在转会市场上也没有任何好的交易。财政问题迫使许多为俱乐部赢得晋升的球员(8名主力球员)离开俱乐部。随后，球队签下了主要的几名实力平平的球员，如奥伦堡边锋特卡丘克、中央陆军二队前锋苏莱曼诺夫、汤姆托木斯克的边后卫彭奇科夫，还有几名前替补门将尼格马图林(图拉兵工厂)、莫吉列韦茨(希姆基)和科兹洛夫(罗斯托夫)。

就目前的情况来看，诺夫哥罗德基本上保持了上个赛季的水平，拥有最便宜的阵容，排在联赛垫底，比倒数第二的希姆基少了500万。

最后，由于C-19的限制，比赛将在一个空荡荡的体育场举行，球队由经验非常不足的主教练克尔扎科夫管理，他在汤姆·托木斯克(最终在俄罗斯乙级联赛降级区结束)执教一段时间后，于今年夏天接管了球队。

有那么多的理由佐证诺夫哥罗德会输，他们在赛季的这个阶段面对谁并不重要。由于上面提到的所有问题，升级后的球队注定会有一个非常艰难的开始。

索契2021/22赛季的赛程早已开始，在欧战中以3-0击败了阿塞拜疆球队Keshla。他们在夏季失去了一些高质量球员，然而，仍然是一支有公认足球风格的体面的“教练队伍”。

除非诺夫哥罗德找到一个赞助者，解决他们迅速增长的债务，否则我很乐意每周都赌他们输。