Khimki - SKA Khabarovsk: betting tip for a friendly match

Current form

After the first round of the RPL, Khimki are in the play-off zone. In principle, this is not surprising, because last season the team played in the Russian First League, and it is rare to see a club that, having risen to the Top Division, immediately settles firmly at least in the center of the national championship.

On January 24, the team played its first friendly match against Serbian Javor Ivanjica and won that match with the expected ease (5:1). The upcoming opponent is clearly not much higher in playing class than the previous opponent, so the Moscow Region club is again presented as a huge favorite, but the whole point is that the team will play this match a few hours after the match with Novorossiysk Chernomorets, and it is unclear how much strength the football players will have for the second game in a row.

Disqualifications and injuries

The team has no problems with recruiting players ahead of this friendly match.

Interesting trends for betting

• Khimki have scored in eight previous matches
• Khimki have conceded in their last nine games

Estimated line-up: Kokarev - Andzhelkovich, Filin, Luna - Terekhov, Kaplenko, Corredera, Abdullahi - Bakayev, Rudenko, Sadygov.

Current form

SKA Khabarovsk is plowing through the expanses of the Russian First League and is a solid mid-table team, sitting in eighth place in the standings. After the first round, the gap to the playoff zone is eight points. The handicap is not small, but if the Khabarovsk team plays like they have recently: unbeaten for five games in a row, three wins and two draws, then there is no doubt that it will not be difficult to win back such a handicap. Last year, the teams also played a friendly match, and then the Khabarovsk team lost with a big score of 1:4. The red-blues have not improved much in their play at the moment, so it is not surprising that bookmakers put the club as a clear underdog.

Disqualifications and injuries

At the moment, all players are in action.

Interesting trends for betting

• SKA Khabarovsk has not lost in five matches in a row
• Khabarovsk scored in four of the last five matches

Estimated line-up: Imamov - Bykov, Martinez, Aliyev, Gadzhimuradov - Gonkadze, Zhuravlen, Pershin - Pokidyshev, Poyarkov, Simonyan.