LiontipsAk Bars vs Severstal. KHL match prediction and bets
Command Analysis
Current form
Ak Bars is in third place in the conference table and continues to fight for leadership in the East. The club from the Republic of Tatarstan has scored 50 points in 37 games and can rise to second place in the very near future. Anvar Gatiyatullin charges alternate victories and defeats in the second half of December. The Bars won a beautiful comeback victory in Moscow over Dynamo (6:5), but were unable to beat the Zubrs in Minsk (1:5). Returning home, Dmitry Yashkin team crushed Traktor, approaching the Chelyabinsk team positions in the table (4:0). The hosts scored two goals in the second and third periods and did not allow their opponent to upset Amir Miftakhov.
Kazan did not always act confidently in front and scored only 15 accurate shots in the last five matches, twice scoring only once against Minsk Dynamo. Artem Galimov regained the lead in the list of the club best scorers (17+15), but Alexander Barabanov is only one point behind (13+18).
Amir Miftakhov has displaced Timur Bilyalov and is now the Cats' number one goalie. This season, the goalie has one of the best figures in terms of save percentage - 95.25%. He has appeared on the ice in 19 games and has not let in a single goal four times.
Disqualifications and injuries
Egor Babenko will not be able to play in the upcoming match due to injury.
Interesting trends for betting
- Ak Bars gets 6.76 minutes of penalty time
Kazan players are usually sent off at least three times per match
- Ak Bars has 44:28 in goals scored and conceded in the third period
Kazan players play powerfully in the final twenty minutes and often score goals in it
Current form
Severstal has fallen to seventh place in the West, having earned 48 points in 39 starts. The Steelworkers can regain fifth place in the conference, with Andrei Kozyrev men only two points behind. In December, the Cherepovets team played a lot at home and played six games in a row in the Vologda Region. The Black and Yellows came out of the break and easily beat Sochi twice (4:2 and 2:1), and then won against Avtomobilist (3:2) and Neftekhimik (4:1). The last away tour for Adam Liszka team began with an unpleasant defeat in Ufa (0:2). Seva conceded two goals in the second period and could not come up with anything in the lead.
Kirill Pilipenko is still Severstal attack leader with 33 points (18+15) in the goal+pass system. He is followed by Daniil Aymurzin (19+13), who got into excellent shape at the beginning of winter. After the Channel One Cup, the steelmakers have not scored much and have scored only 13 times in the five previous games.
The visitors managed to improve their defensive play and this winter they have conceded only 15 goals in nine games. Konstantin Shostak appears on the ice more often than Aleksandr Samoilov. The goalie from Belarus has blocked 90.37% of shots this season, but still has not kept a clean sheet in his games.
Disqualifications and injuries
Adam Liszka will not help his partners in Kazan.
Interesting trends for betting
- Severstal has a 40:30 ratio of goals scored and conceded in the second period
The Cherepovets team plays powerfully in the second twenty minutes and often scores goals in it.
- Seva averages 33 shots on target
The team is one of the most "shooting" in the league at the moment
Trends
Bet 3rd period: total under 1.5 goals
In three out of four games involving Severstal, the third period was scoreless
2.10Bet 2nd period: Ak Bars will score
Kazan scored in the second period in seven out of eight games
1.40Tip and bets
Ak Bars really needs points, because Anvar Gatiyatullin team continues to chase Salavat Yulaev and has not yet overtaken Traktor in the standings. Kazan got burned twice by Dynamo Minsk, but they are in great shape and do not notice the opponents in their path. Dmitry Yashkin team looked good in the other games. Severstal has been consistently scoring points at home, but did not show anything in the first away match. Now the guests' captain, who makes a big contribution to the club results, is injured. We think that the Bars will win in regular time.
Prediction - Ak Bars win for 1.87
Bet on individual total
Severstal hasn't scored much in recent games, and at the start of the away tour it left the court without scoring any goals. The "Cats" are always very strong in defense on their home court, and Amir Miftakhov is in pretty good shape now. We think that the "steelworkers" won't score more than two goals.
We bet on Severstal individual total under 2.5 goals with odds of 1.53
Total Bet
The meeting between the teams at the end of November was extremely productive, but then Anvar Gatiyatullin charges were left without their main goalkeepers. Now both teams act with an eye on defense and usually have not very bright games between themselves. Let play a bet on the total under goals.
We take the total under 5.5 pucks for 1.70
