Orenburg

Marcel Licka lead Orenburg to promotion from the Russian second tier last season after a third-placed finish. They defeated Ufa in the play-offs thanks to a 2-1 second leg victory away from home. Orenburg have recruited seven new players for a total of just under £1 million as they try to stay in the Russian top flight. Ivan Basic could be the side's marquee signing as he joins from Zrinjski Mostar who play in the Bosnian Premier League. He scored five league goals last term and becomes the club's second most expensive signing. They will also welcome three players back from loans, including Dmitriy Vorobyev who spent last season with Sochi, making ten Russian Premier League appearances. There has been a couple of departures for Orenburg too as Joel Fameyeh joins Rubin Kazan, whilst Sergey Breev and Adessoye Oyewole have retired. Fameyeh scored 16 goals in the league last term for Orenburg so he will be a miss for the club. It will be a fairly mixed start to the season for Orenburg but their hardest run of games seems to come in late September to October with fixtures against Zenit, CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Moscow and Sochi over a six game period. They will be looking for a strong start. Orenburg faced just two seasons without Russian Premier League football after being relegated in 2020 under Konstantin Paramonov. They will be hoping head coach Licka can help keep them in the top flight this season.