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Avtomobilist vs. Metallurg Magnitogorsk: KHL match forecast
The Eastern Conference standings neighbors will play each other in Yekaterinburg on December 28. Avtomobilist is gradually coming to its senses, while Metallurg is in excellent shape and can overtake the Machinists in the very near future. In the first match after the break, the Foxes easily achieved success in the game against Anatoly Golyshev team on home ice. Will they be able to repeat their success on the road? We tell you about this in the forecast for the match
Command Analysis
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Russian FederationCurrent form
Avtomobilist returned to fourth place in the Eastern Conference and has 46 points. The team was recently on a long winning streak, after which it is expected to be on the decline. In December, the hosts still have only two wins, while they have lost six of the previous eight matches. In a long away series, the "machinists" looked very bad and were able to unexpectedly turn on in Yaroslavl, where they managed to beat the local Lokomotiv (3:1). A day later, Nikolay Zavarukhin charges could have won against Severstal in Cherepovets, but after quick goals they relaxed and missed a positive result (2:3). After returning home, the Urals team beat Traktor with some difficulty (3:1), scoring the winning goal just a little over a minute before the end of regulation time.
Anatoly Golyshev team is still very dependent on the play of their goalies. Vladislav Galkin and Evgeny Alikin have lost their former form and have not been helping out their partners lately. The younger Galkin brought important victories from a psychological point of view in Yaroslavl and Yekaterinburg and now he has better statistics. The Ural alumnus has reflected 92.49% of shots this season and made three shutouts in 21 matches.
Stefan Da Costa was recently the league top scorer. The Frenchman currently has 36 points (8+28) in the goal+pass system and continues to provide assists to his teammates in large quantities. He is followed by Brooks Macek, who has 28 scoring actions (14+14) and has been the most successful finisher of Avtomobilist attacks.
Disqualifications and injuries
Nick Ebert will not play in the next match.
Interesting trends for betting
- Avtomobilist wins 46.2% of faceoffs
The Yekaterinburg team looks weak at the point and often loses to its opponents in this indicator
- "Auto" receives an average of 7.95 minutes of penalty time
The team is usually sent off at least four times per match
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Russian FederationCurrent form
Metallurg had not shown championship results for a long time, but with the onset of winter, the Foxes began to perform much better and are now close to getting into the top three of the conference table. Andrei Razin charges are in fifth place in the East, with 46 points after 39 games. The visitors are in optimal condition and have lost only once in seven previous matches. After the Channel One Cup, Egor Yakovlev team played a series of matches on home ice without errors. The Urals team beat Avtomobilist (4:2), Salavat Yulaev (4:2) and Avangard (2:1, OT), having received a little time to rest. The Steelworkers put pressure on the Omsk goal the entire game, but were able to secure a victory only after overtime.
Metallurg has been doing well defensively lately, allowing only five goals in the last three games. Ilya Nabokov has returned from a recent injury and has shown great performance in the previous games. The best goalie in the last playoffs has blocked 92.59% of the shots this season and has three shutouts in 29 attempts.
Robin Press remains the top scorer of the club from the Chelyabinsk region. The defender from Sweden occupies only 62nd place in the list of the most productive hockey players in the KHL. The defender earned 23 points (3+20) and mainly assisted his partners, bringing them to a shooting position.
Disqualifications and injuries
Vladislav Eremenko will not play in Yekaterinburg.
Interesting trends for betting
- On average, Metallurg wins 48% of faceoffs
The Foxes win less than half of their faceoffs.
- The Steelers are blocking 14 shots per game on average.
The team doesn't give their goalies much help and rarely blocks shots on goal.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In three out of four matches involving Metallurg, the first period was not productive
1.73Bet 2nd period: Avtomobilist will not score
The Machinists have failed to score in the second period in three of four games.
2.25Tip and bets
Metallurg has been very good in December, and if Andrey Razin men continue to play like this, it unlikely that they will fail to finish the regular season in the top three of the Eastern Conference. The Foxes have finally added some reliability to their defense, and Ilya Nabokov is in excellent shape after returning to action. Vladislav Galkin has been helping Avtomobilist out in recent games, but the home team is seriously lacking in sharpness up front. Even with Stefan Da Costa strong performances, the Urals offense looks pretty lackluster. We think the Steelworkers will win this match as well.
Forecast - Metallurg win with handicap (0) for 1.90
Bet on individual total
Metallurg have been very good in defense and have allowed only eight goals in their previous five games. Avtomobilist recently played against the Foxes in Magnitogorsk and were able to beat Ilya Nabokov only twice. Nikolai Zavarukhin men have not been so successful in Yekaterinburg throughout the season, so we don't expect more than two goals from the hosts.
We take the individual total of Avtomobilist under 2.5 goals for 1.80
Total Bet
This season, the opponents have played only one match between themselves, in which they scored six goals between them. We think that the meeting in Yekaterinburg will be more closed, and Vladislav Galkin will play a little more reliably. Both teams prefer to play defensively, so we do not expect more than five goals from them. We will play a bet on the total under goals.
We bet on a total of less than five goals with a coefficient of 1.90
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