UNICS vs Zenit. Rehearsal of favorites before the playoffs?

On February 26, 2023, in Kazan, the local UNICS will host Zenit from St. Petersburg. The game will be held under the dome of the Basket Hall sports complex. The clubs are on the second and third lines of the VTB United League 2022/23 table, respectively.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• UNICS vs CSKA facts
• History of the confrontation
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on UNICS vs Zenit

UNICS

Kazanians passed the first stage of the VTB United League extremely confidently, losing only twice to CSKA. They took second place, and nothing boded trouble. Then UNICS quite unexpectedly lost to Loko. This fact has strained many, since the "railroad" this season is not very good. Then basketball players from Tatarstan calmed everyone down by defeating the “army team”.

In total, UNICS currently ranks second in the summary table of the Winners' Stage of the VTB United League 2022/23, going with a balance of 23/3. Zenith is five wins behind here, if you manage to break it in the upcoming meeting, then with a high degree of probability the club will definitely not fall lower in the table. Lagging behind CSKA right now is two positive results. Kazan is still in the fight for the top line.

It turns out that UNICS is maximally motivated to meet with St. Petersburg. As for the performers, here the team is also in perfect order. Daryl Macon and Louis Labery were in the top five of the tour. The first scored 21 points and made seven assists in the match against CSKA, and the second scored a double-double of 17 points in the opponent's ring and 11 rebounds in that match.

Zenit

The champion of the last season cannot reach his maximum in this game year. St. Petersburg finished in the regular season of the VTB United League 2022/23 in third place (16/6). Zenit started the winners stage with a defeat from Lokomotiv, which is not in the best shape. Then the St. Petersburg team defeated two Moscow teams (MBA and CSKA). It seemed that they found themselves, but no. In the last round, the Blue-White-Blues stumbled again. This time they could not withstand Nizhny Novgorod.

All participants of the Winners' Stage will advance to the playoffs. Petersburgers have nothing to worry about here. Problems will start further. Zenith is dangerous but unstable. There is a high temptation to believe that he definitely cannot win a long series against a big team. Pascual is an experienced and brilliant coach. He must know all this, and he must have some ideas. If we talk about the upcoming match with UNICS in Kazan, then it will be as difficult as possible, for the reasons stated above.

History of the confrontation

In October and December last year, the teams crossed paths twice in the 2022/23 VTB United League regular season. In both cases, Kazan was stronger (82:79 in St. Petersburg and 95:94 in Tatarstan). In ten extreme battles, the pair - 6:4 in terms of victories in favor of the "blue-white-blue".

Odds from download 1xbet

Bookmakers believe in UNICS. They're paying 1.66 to win the match. The visitors' success is priced at 2.20. Bets on the total under (165.5) are multiplied by 1.78. If you bet on a breakthrough of this point cut-off, you can increase your bank by 1.97 times. Handicap 1 (-5.5) is valued at 2.2. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Zenit cannot find stability. They have a good game and then they fall apart. UNICS has no such problems. In the battle between the teams, the home team will win relatively handily, winning 1 and handicapping 1 (-5.5), because they are now better than their opponent in almost everything. The Peterites will not give up without a fight, they will fight to the end. We're expecting a big score - Total More (165.5).