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Severstal vs. Sochi: KHL Match Prediction
On December 18, Severstal and Sochi will meet. At first glance, the signboard is not the most interesting, but the match between these teams can be very spectacular and take place with a large number of goals scored, since both Cherepovets and Sochi are not afraid to attack and miss a lot in response. The clubs already met in October, and then the Leopards turned out to be stronger. Will the Steelworkers take revenge on their home arena? What bet should you place on this event? You will find out from our forecast
Command Analysis
Severstal Cherepovets
Russian FederationCurrent form
Severstal has big goals this season, and a regular playoff appearance certainly won't do. The team plans to at least make it past the first round, but to do that, it needs to have a decent regular season to avoid facing one of the leaders. We'd like to emphasize that the Cherepovets team is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference and has 40 points. However, they haven't been consistent for a month and once even had a four-game losing streak.
Fortunately, they were able to leave for the break in a good mood. Let us recall that the "steelworkers" dealt with "Avangard" (4:2) on the road, and after an offensive match against "Lada" (0:1), they prevailed over "Barys" (5:3) on their home ice and beat "Traktor" with a score of 2:1 in a tough fight, getting away with just one missed puck in the confrontation with the leader.
Usually, Andrey Kozyrev team doesn't manage to play such a perfect defense, and even at home, they let in about three goals on average. Nevertheless, with the support of the home stands, Severstal looks much stronger than on the road, because they have already managed to get 11 victories in regulation time in 17 matches. As a rule, the second game segment is the best for them, in which the club has a ratio of 36:28 in goals scored and goals conceded.
Disqualifications and injuries
Burenov will not play in the upcoming match due to injury.
Interesting trends for betting
- Severstal gets 4.94 penalty minutes per match
The team is currently the most disciplined in the league
- Severstal has 84.9% neutralization of the opponent power play
Cherepovets players are in fourth place in the championship in terms of playing in the minority
HC Sochi
Russian FederationCurrent form
Sochi can no longer claim anything serious this season and has already said goodbye to its chances of making it to the playoffs. One of the team main goals now is to get out of the last place in the Western Conference. Note that it is five points behind Kunlun, but has four games in reserve, so this task is quite feasible. However, the Leopards often find themselves on a losing streak and cannot find a game that would bring them a positive result over a long period of time.
By the way, Sochi also suffered a setback in their previous five meetings. In the away series, they lost to Admiral (3:4), Amur (1:2), and then, returning from the Far East, they were soundly defeated by Avangard (0:6) and failed to cope with Kunlun - 3:5. Defense is the most vulnerable spot of Sergei Zubov team, because he has already conceded more than 100 goals in total and usually allows the opponent to score at least three times per game.
The team weakest period is the opening twenty minutes, during which they have a 21:39 ratio of goals scored and goals conceded. It is also worth remembering that Sochi has problems playing in unequal compositions, especially in the minority, since they have 78.8% neutralization of the opponent majority and occupy one of the last places in the championship in this indicator.
Disqualifications and injuries
Nikonov, Serukh and Spiridonov will not be able to play in the upcoming confrontation.
Interesting trends for betting
- Sochi has a 17.9% power play percentage
The Leopards are averaging one in five or six power play attempts
- Sochi gets 7.39 minutes of penalty time
Typically, the Leopards are sent off at least four times per match
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In four out of five matches involving the home team, the first period was unscoring
1.85Bet 3rd period: victory of Cherepovets
In four out of five matches, Sochi lost in the third period
1.90Tip and bets
Sochi has little chance in this matchup. Severstal is superior to its opponent in class and cannot afford to stumble in matches with such teams if it wants to improve its position in the standings and further consolidate its position in the playoff zone. In previous home matches against the Leopards, the Cherepovets team, as a rule, achieved success and earned two points. Moreover, Sergei Zubov team performs weaker on the road than on home ice, so we doubt that he will be able to bring the matter even to overtime.
Forecast - Severstal win for 1.55
Bet on individual total
Sochi has conceded a lot in recent matches and often allowed opponents to score four times. Severstal, in turn, always counts on attacking hockey and is not used to sitting back in defense. Even with a minimal advantage, the hosts are not afraid to go on the attack, especially when playing against outsiders. Considering that in seven previous matches out of ten, the Leopards have conceded at least four times, we suggest betting on Severstal individual total.
We bet on Severstal individual total over 3.5 goals with odds of 2.00
Total Bet
Matches involving Sochi are often spectacular and feature six or more goals. Sochi itself makes good use of its chances, but in response it misses much more than it is capable of scoring. Severstal also often plays high-scoring matches on its home ice. Incidentally, the last five out of seven matches between the teams featured six or more goals. This time, we also expect to see some active hockey.
We take the total over 5.5 pucks for 1.90
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