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Lokomotiv vs. CSKA: KHL Match Forecast
The central meeting of the game day in the KHL will take place in Yaroslavl on January 5. Lokomotiv remains the leader of the regular season, but Igor Nikitin team is gradually losing its former positions and giving competitors the opportunity to get closer to them. CSKA gained a crazy momentum and won all matches in December, but was unable to start off with success at the beginning of the new calendar year. In the current regular season, Ilya Vorobyov team won against the hosts twice in regulation time. Will it happen again? Read about it in our forecast for the confrontation between the two best teams in the West
Command Analysis
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Russian FederationCurrent form
Lokomotiv is confidently leading the West and the entire KHL table. The team led by Igor Nikitin earned 66 points in 42 games and is nine points ahead of second-place CSKA. In the second half of December, the Volga team looked very tough and won a lot of victories due to their class, but also lost a lot. After the break for the Channel One Cup, Alexander Elesin team won against SKA in St. Petersburg (3:2), and then lost at home to Avtomobilist (1:4), but quickly rehabilitated themselves in front of their home fans and easily dealt with Sochi (3:1). In the away series, the Yaroslavl team was stronger than Torpedo (5:0) and Vityaz (5:3), but stumbled against Dynamo Minsk, who are currently demonstrating a strong level of hockey (1:4).
Daniil Isaev is gradually getting into shape and recovering from a slight slump. The Yaroslavl goalie has allowed only 11 goals in five previous games, but the team has lost two of them. Overall, the hosts remain the most reliable team in the league, allowing an average of 1.67 goals per game. Alexey Melnichuk was unable to contain Dynamo attack in the last game and is unlikely to appear on the ice in such an important game.
Maxim Berezkin took sole leadership in the club list of scorers. The forward scored 29 points (11+18) in the goal+pass system and broke away from Artur Kayumov (14+13), who had not let go of the young forward for a long time. The latter scored in the last two matches and scored the only goal against the Minsk team.
Disqualifications and injuries
All the Yaroslavl players managed to heal their ailments before the game against the Muscovites.
Interesting trends for betting
- Lokomotiv gets 6.36 minutes of penalty time
Yaroslavl players demonstrate disciplined play and on average are sent off no more than three times per match
- On average, Lokomotiv takes at least 32 shots per match
Lokomotiv plays actively in attack and tries to make shots from any position
CSKA Moscow
Russian FederationCurrent form
CSKA has moved up to second place in the conference and is now set to chase Lokomotiv. The Moscow team has earned 57 points in 40 games and is nine points behind the Western leader, but has two games in reserve. If they win in Yaroslavl, the Army Men will come very close to the Volga team and begin to put psychological pressure on them. Ilya Vorobyov men had an excellent December and did not lose a single game during the last month of 2024. After the international break, the Red-Blues won at home against SKA (6:5), Neftekhimik (2:1, B) and Sochi (4:1), and in the first game of January they were unable to take two points in St. Petersburg (3:6). The visitors almost fought back at the end of the third period, but conceded an offensive goal and were left with nothing.
After the Channel One Cup, CSKA has been very strong in attack and regularly scores in large quantities. The team from the Russian capital has made 25 accurate shots in the last six matches and improved its scoring rate to 3.13 goals per game. Vitaly Abramov returned to the top ten scorers in the league, having scored 35 points (19+16). Maxim Sorkin got there with him, having participated in 34 goal attacks (18+16).
Nikita Nesterov team was very good in defense in December, but in the five previous starts they conceded 17 times. Ivan Prosvetov, after harsh criticism, began to gain form and became the main goalkeeper for the visitors. The goalie has blocked 92.21% of shots and made four shutouts this season. In the last match he conceded four goals and was replaced by the 36th minute.
Disqualifications and injuries
Egor Fateev and Dmitry Samorukov will not come to Yaroslavl.
Interesting trends for betting
- According to statistics, CSKA shoots 29 times per game on average
The visitors do not put much pressure on the opposing goalkeepers in every match
- CSKA wins 51.1% of faceoffs
Muscovites perform well at the point and often win duels
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In four out of five matches between the teams, the first period was not productive
1.52Bet 2nd period: Lokomotiv will not score
Lokomotiv failed to score in the second period against the army team this season
2.15Tip and bets
Lokomotiv had more time to rest and prepare, but CSKA had already gotten a feel for the ice and was unable to score points in St. Petersburg only because of Ivan Prosvetov poor performance. The teams recently met each other in Yaroslavl, and then the Army Men were stronger, conceding only one goal. So far, the Red-Blues are the most inconvenient opponent in the league for Igor Nikitin team. In two matches of the season against the Muscovites, the Yaroslavl team did not score a single point and scored only one goal. We think that the capital team will not lose in regulation time this time either.
Forecast - CSKA will not lose for 1.75
Bet on individual total
Lokomotiv did not show a strong attacking game in Minsk, although the Volga team looked good in front at the end of December. Alexander Elesin team could not find the key to CSKA goal in the first two matches of the season between the teams and scored only one goal in 120 minutes. Ivan Prosvetov will try to rehabilitate himself after the failure in St. Petersburg and is unlikely to miss more than two times.
We bet on Lokomotiv individual total under 2.5 goals for 1.68
Total Bet
Matches between rivals are rarely spectacular. This season, the rivals have met each other twice and have not scored more than three times between them. Lokomotiv does not play open hockey and has not shown a high-scoring game very often this season. We think that there will not be more than four accurate shots in the match. We will play a bet on the total under.
We take the total under 4.5 goals with a coefficient of 1.70
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