The year's surprise package, Kazan side Rubin FC, have already clinched the title. Second and third places, and the Champions League spots that go with them, have been secured by two Moscow clubs, CSKA and Dynamo.
The fourth and fifth places offer the chance to play in the 2009/10 Europa League, as the UEFA Cup will be known after this season. However, with Urals side Amkar clinching fourth place last weekend, four sides, including Spartak and Zenit, are still in the hunt for the final entry-ticket to European soccer.
A win for 2007 champions and UEFA Cup holders Zenit in the Russian capital will see the St Petersburg club maintain fifth place regardless of other results. However, should Gazprom-controlled Zenit slip up and Volga side Krilya Sovetov beat Terek Grozny at home, the unfashionable Krilya will represent Russia in Europe's second club competition next season. Krilya are 1-4 for the win with British bookmakers William Hill.
Zenit's Dutch trainer Dick Advocaat has recently signed a year-extension to his contract.
"The situation is in our hands," the trainer told the Sport Den Za Dnem website, adding that he was disappointed that the team had not managed to make the Champions League for a second season in a row.
State-run energy giant Gazprom has recently confirmed that it will continue to finance Zenit, regardless of the current financial crisis.
Spartak, managed by Danish soccer legend Michael Laudrup since early September, need to beat Zenit and hope that Krilya fail to take all three points and that cross-town rivals Lokomotiv are unable to grab a win away from home against Rubin.
At the bottom end of the table, Yaroslavl side Shinnik and Vladivostok's Luch Energiya have already been relegated.
The Russian season runs from March to November. If two or more teams are level on points, the number of victories throughout the league season is used to determine placings. If this is equal, the results of the games between the sides then comes into play, with goal difference considered if the two teams are still inseparable.
Table (29 games)
Rubin - 60
CSKA Moscow - 56
Dynamo Moscow - 51
Amkar - 48
Zenit St Petersburg - 45
Krilya Sovetov - 45
Lokomotiv Moscow - 44
Spartak Moscow - 44
Terek Grozny -35
FC Moskva -35
Saturn -32
Spartak Nalchik - 31
Tom Tomsk -29
Khimki -27
Luch-Energiya -21
Shinnik -19
