Liontips
Ak Bars vs. Sochi: KHL Match Prediction
Sochi, which is in the last place in the Western Conference table, will play away in Kazan against Ak Bars on September 22. The southerners give any team in the league a fight, but so far they have been losing more often, conceding in large numbers. The Bars, upon arrival in Tatarstan, are starting to gain momentum and are gradually regaining their former positions in the East. In two games on home ice, Anvar Gatiyatullin's charges have not conceded a single puck. Will they be able to dry out the guests? Or will Sergei Zubov's team upset another favorite? Read our betting tip for the match
Command Analysis
Ak Bars Kazan
Russian FederationCurrent form
Ak Bars was seriously stalled in early September and only recently began a winning streak. The Tatarstan club currently has only six points after five games and a modest eighth place in the East. The Bars started the new regular season with a number of away games. The Cats lost the green derby in Ufa to local Salavat Yulaev (3:5), but then won against Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod (3:2, B). The Kazan team was very close to points in Omsk, but could not hold out in the end and lost to Avangard with a crushing score (1:4). Having returned to Tatneft Arena, Dmitry Yashkin's team began to show a completely different hockey. In two home games, the hosts did not concede a single goal and confidently won matches against Metallurg (2:0) and Barys (5:0).
Anvar Gatiyatullin's charges have seriously improved their statistical indicators in defense after two dry victories. Nevertheless, the team's goalkeepers Timur Bilyalov and Amir Miftakhov have reflected only 91.5% of shots, while Ak Bars' opponents make only 26 focused attacks on the "bars" possessions on average per match. In addition to this, the "green" defenders block 18 attempts to score per match.
Injuries and disqualifications
Ak Bars will continue its home series of matches, playing with its optimal lineup.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Cats average 26 hits per game.
The Bars meet their opponents at every point on the pitch, not giving the opposing players any free space.
- Tatarstan players win 53.8% of faceoffs
The hosts are strong at the faceoff dots and regularly take possession of the puck after pauses.
HC Sochi
Russian FederationCurrent form
Sochi has had a good start to the season, but at the moment Sergei Zubov's team is still in last place in the Western Conference standings with four points after five games. Before the away series of games, the southerners played three games on their home ice, scoring a modest two points. The Tigers suffered a crushing defeat to Traktor (1:4), won a shootout against Torpedo (5:3) and were unable to cope with the skill of the SKA hockey players (4:7). Kirill Rasskazov's team has big problems in defense. In just five games, the visitors have conceded 20 goals, which means that on average, the red light behind the goal of Egor Zavragin and Sergei Ivanov comes on four times per game.
The club from the city of the same name often violates game discipline. Sochi allowed its opponents to play 22 times in the majority, while conceding only four goals, which is a good result. It is worth emphasizing that so far the "cats" have been gaining points thanks to a strong attack. Throwing more than 32 times per match, Sochi scores 3.2 goals on average.
Injuries and disqualifications
Amir Garayev will not be able to take part in the match in Kazan due to injury.
Interesting trends for betting
- Sochi allows opponents to take more than 38 shots on average per game
Sergei Zubov's charges often fail in defense, and the visiting goalkeepers have a lot of work to do.
- The Southerners converted 9.9% of their shots.
Excellent execution of moments gives Kirill Rasskazov's team the opportunity to score points in a game against any opponent.
Trends
Bet 1st period: Sochi will not score
Ak Bars did not concede a single goal in two games on home ice.
1.62Bet 1st period: victory of Ak Bars
Ak Bars have won the first periods of matches against Sochi in three of the previous four games.
1.90Tip and bets
Ak Bars has started to recover from a less than successful start away from home. Kazan is gradually improving its defense and the Cats are still keeping a clean sheet in the current home series. The hosts now have a great chance to improve their standings, especially since they haven't lost a single important player yet.
Sochi plays open hockey and scores a lot, but this does not allow Sergei Zubov's team to act reliably on their half of the ice. The southerners beat Spartak and Torpedo, but most likely the visitors were lucky somewhere, plus the favorites underestimated their opponent a little. In a duel against such a closed and viscous club as Ak Bars, the Tigers will not have many chances to make a sensation again. We believe that Dmitry Yashkin's team will continue their winning streak in Kazan and beat one of the league's outsiders with a difference of at least two goals.
Betting Tip - Ak Bars win with Asian handicap -1.5 for 1.82
Total Bet
Ak Bars will control the match and will once again play defensively. Kazan has not missed a single goal on home ice to date, but it cannot be said that the hosts have pleased their fans with good execution of moments. The last two games between the teams were low-scoring. We do not expect more than five goals from the upcoming meeting. We suggest betting on the total under.
We bet on total under 5.5 goals with odds of 1.77
Bet on individual total
Ak Bars demonstrated excellent defensive play in the first games on the ice of Tatneft Arena. The home team's goalies have also started to come to their senses, which is also important. Although Sochi has scored in all of its games this season, it has only managed to make one accurate shot twice. We don't think the Greens will allow the red light to be turned on behind their goal more than once.
We take Sochi's individual total under 1.5 goals for 2.07
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