Severstal vs Metallurg. What will the championship leader show in the away match?

On Saturday, September 23, the next match of the KHL regular championship will be held in Cherepovets. The leaders of the championship, hockey players from Magnitogorsk Metallurg, will come to visit the local Severstal.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Statistics
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Severstal vs Metallurg

Severstal

Severstal is learning to live without Andrei Razin, a charismatic mentor who has consistently led the Cherepovets club for the past five seasons. With Razin, Severstal reached the playoffs three times, but was never able to get past the first round. Now at the helm of the club is Andrey Kozyrev, who has extensive experience as an assistant. In addition to the head coach, in the off-season the team lost Swedish defender Robin Press, who, despite his role, became one of Severstal’s most productive players last season. Canadian Mark Barberio, who came to Cherepovets from Dynamo Minsk, is called to replace him.

So far, the club's current results remain approximately at the level of last season. Severstal takes its toll in games against opponents of its own level, but against the background of the championship favorites it still looks untenable. Thus, the Cherepovets were able to beat Vityaz 3-0 and HC Sochi 6-3 and Neftekhimik 5-3, but at the same time they lost to St. Petersburg SKA 1-4 and the capital's Spartak 4-6. Having taken 7 points out of 14 possible at the start of the season, Severstal currently occupies an intermediate seventh place in the East, losing the same seven points to the leader.

Metallurg

Magnitogorsk also experienced a change in head coach this summer, dismissing Ilya Vorobyov. And here we come to the main intrigue of this confrontation - Andrei Razin, who has been a kind of face of Severstal over the past five years, became Metallurg's mentor. Together with Razin, Robin Press, the best defender of Severstal at the end of last season, also joined the Ural team.

So far, Razin’s invitation to Magnitogorsk looks quite justified. Having lost in the opening game of the championship on the road to Avtomobilist 2-3, Metallurg went on a streak of five victories in a row, stumbling for the second time only in the home match against Lada 1-3. They had to rehabilitate themselves for the home defeat in front of their fans in two games in a row against Avtomobilist, and the Metallurg hockey players did an excellent job of it. Two victories 4-2 and 2-1, and Metallurg with 15 points scored became first not only in the East, but also topped the summary standings of the current championship.

Statistics

Over the last six matches against Metallurg, Severstal has scored at least three goals into the opponent’s goal, individual total 1 over (2.5) 1.88. Recently, traveling to Cherepovets has become a real test for Metallurg. In the 2021/22 season, the Urals lost to Severstal with a score of 2-5; the difference was the same three goals last season, when the Cherepovets defeated one of the championship favorites with a score of 4-1. In total, the opponents met 29 times in the KHL. A noticeable advantage in terms of victories on the side of Metallurg is 18 versus 11, the goal difference is also in favor of the Ural club 87-75.

Odds from download 1xbet

Despite the fact that Metallurg comes to Cherepovets as the leader of the championship, 1xbet does not highlight a clear favorite in this confrontation, leaving each of the opponents approximately equal chances of winning in regular time: Severstal’s victory is 2.6, Metallurg’s victory is 2.35. Judging by the statistics, every fourth game between these teams ends outside regular time; you can bet on another draw with odds of 4.3. As for the total performance of the teams, the quotes are as follows: total over (4.5) – 1.45, total under (4.5) – 2.65. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

We are waiting for the first return of Andrei Razin to Cherepovets as the coach of a team that is Severstal’s rival, which only adds additional intrigue to this confrontation. Severstal is among the five worst teams in terms of defensive play, conceding an average of about four goals per match. The Cherepovets try to compensate for deficiencies in defense by playing actively in front of the other team’s goal, and from time to time they succeed. Everything is heading towards the game being open, with a lot of goals scored. Our prediction is Total Over 5.5 with odds of 1.9.