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Ak Bars vs. Metallurg: KHL Match Prediction
Big hockey returns to Kazan on September 14. Local Ak Bars will play on the ice of Tatneft Arena against guests from Magnitogorsk. Both teams unexpectedly started the new season weakly and are in the basement of the Eastern Conference and Kharlamov Division. In recent years, Kazan has had a very difficult time playing against Metallurg in Tatarstan. Will they be able to start a winning streak? Or will Andrei Razin's charges be able to break their losing streak? Read the betting tip for the central match of the evening
Command Analysis
Ak Bars Kazan
Russian FederationCurrent form
Ak Bars began its 17th season in the league without winning a single match in regulation time. Anvar Gatiyatullin's charges lost in the "green derby" away (3:5), and then took two points in Nizhny Novgorod in a game against the local Torpedo (3:2, B). On September 9, the Kazan team lost to Avangard in Omsk (1:4), and until the 55th minute the score in the match with the Omsk team was equal. At the moment, the "cats" occupy the penultimate place in the East with a goal difference of 7:11.
Dmitry Yashkin's team makes 38 shots at the opponents' goal, but their implementation suffers. Only 6.1% of the "greens'" attempts to score reached the desired goal, while in three matches the "bars" scored only nine times. The team's best scorer at the moment is newcomer Nicolas Petan, who earned five points (2+3).
Interesting trends for betting
- Tatarstan players perform 29 power moves on average per match
The team from Kazan plays tough hockey and tests the strength of their opponents every two minutes.
- Ak Bars blocks 17 shots per game
The Bars are sacrificing themselves and trying to help the goalkeepers, but this does not help the hosts win.
Injuries and disqualifications
The hosts have no significant losses.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Russian FederationCurrent form
Metallurg had a terrible start after their triumph. Andrei Razin's team lost the Opening Cup to Lokomotiv (2:3), after which they won in a shootout against SKA (5:4, OT). On September 8, the Foxes ended their home series with a dry defeat to Neftekhimik (0:2). A few days later, the Steelworkers were close to taking revenge on the Wolves in Nizhnekamsk, but lost again to the club from Tatarstan (2:3). Egor Yakovlev's team led 2:0 after the first 20 minutes, but ultimately ended up without points, conceding 23 seconds before the end of regulation time.
The visitors have problems in attack, partly due to the injury of Daniil Vovchenko and the departure of several important attacking players. There are also big questions about Ilya Nabokov. The best player of the playoffs last season has so far reflected only 89.36% of shots with a reliability coefficient of 3.36.
Interesting trends for betting
- Metallurg averages 31 shots per game
Despite the large number of shots, the team from Magnitogorsk has only a 7.1% chance conversion rate.
- Egor Yakovlev's team blocks 16 shots per game
Magnitka blocks a lot, but the opponents still shoot a lot at Nabokov’s goal.
Injuries and disqualifications
Daniil Vovchenko, who was injured at the Ivan Romazan memorial, is in the Metallurg infirmary.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total goals 1.5 under
In two out of three matches, Ak Bars played the second periods with a total of 1.5 under
2.00Bet 1st period: Metallurg will not lose
In three of their four games , Metallurg did not lose in the first periods.
1.45Tip and bets
Metallurg lost to Neftekhimik twice, and Andrey Razin's team was very close to winning the last game. Magnitogorsk will come to Kazan with the maximum mood for success, and on the ice of Tatneft Arena the Urals often achieve positive results. Ak Bars has seriously weakened in the off-season and is not showing a strong game at the start of the new season. Anvar Gatiyatullin's team scores little and is unlikely to easily beat the current league champion. We suggest betting on a double chance of the second.
Our prediction: Metallurg will not lose for 1.70
Bet on total
Ak Bars plays closed hockey and after two major away defeats is unlikely to force the action from the first minutes. Metallurg's matches have not yet been very productive due to problems with converting chances. In the last four head-to-head matches, the teams have not scored more than five goals between them. We don't think there will be an abundance of goals in the upcoming game.
Betting Tip - total goals 5 less pucks for 1.90
Bet on the total of the second period
Kazan only exchanged goals with their opponents in the game against Torpedo, and in the more productive matches against Salavat Yulaev and Avangard, the second periods were unproductive. In personal meetings, four of the previous five matches were low-scoring from the 20th to the 40th minute, so we will take the total of 1.5 under in this interval.
Betting Tip - total goals 1.5 less pucks in the second period for 2.00
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