Salavat Yulaev vs Ak Bars. The legendary “Green Derby” on Ufa ice.

The sixth face-to-face meeting between Salavat Yulaev and Ak Bars this year will be held in the capital of Bashkiria. On Saturday, February 10, the principal rivals will take to the ice at the Ufa Arena.

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

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Salavat Yulaev vs Ak Bars

Salavat Yulaev

For the second season in a row, the Ufa club quite confidently passes the distance of the regular championship, having excellent chances to finish the championship in the top three strongest teams in the Eastern Conference. A year ago, this did not particularly help the team; already in the first round of the playoffs, the Bashkir club sensationally lost to Admiral, having managed to win only two victories over the representative of the Far East. Now Salavat Yulaev will most likely finish in third place, which will again allow him to start in the playoffs from home matches.

In certain situations, the Ufa club can aim for higher places, the gap from the second Omsk Avangard is 3 points, from the leading Metallurg - 5. At the same time, we should not forget about the team’s personnel problems. The injured list currently includes Kuzmin, Vasilevsky, Kulemin, and the last two are key hockey players in Viktor Kozlov’s game formations. As for the team's current playing form, everything is quite good here. In the last five games, the Ufa team scored seven points out of ten possible, losing in regulation time only to St. Petersburg SKA.

Ak Bars

Despite the rather mediocre performance during the regular season, Ak Bars continues to remain one of the main favorites in the fight for the Gagarin Cup. Experienced Zinetula Bilyaletdinov could well have deliberately sacrificed the championship, bringing his players to peak form for the start of the cup battles. Fortunately, the Bars team matches their coach; Voinov, Kagarlitsky, Shipachev, and Radulov have plenty of cup experience. Another key hockey player for the current Ak Bars, Czech forward Dmitry Yashkin, continues to recover from shoulder surgery and, according to the latest information, should be back in action by the first round of the playoffs.

The results of the latest matches of the Kazan club are similar to the results of Salavat Yulaev. Bars also have three wins in their last five matches, with two defeats. The misfire in the home game against Novosibirsk Sibir looks especially offensive, when Ak Bars unexpectedly lost with a score of 1-4. Currently, Bars are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, losing only one point to the last quartet of the strongest Avtomobilist. Traktor and Lada are breathing in their backs, so Ak Bars can either rise to fourth place or drop to seventh in the near future.

Statistics

In the current season the teams have played twice on Ufa ice and in both games the hosts, Salavat Yulaev hockey players, scored three pucks each. Individual Total 1 over (2.5) 2.15. It was enough to win, in September the game ended 3-2, in November 3-1. Ufa managed to clinch one game away, beating Ak Bars in Kazan with a football score of 1-0. The Bars have two wins in this season's Green Derby - 4-2 and 3-2, with Ak Bars winning both at home. The history of confrontation between these two clubs totals 96 matches, the Ufa players were stronger in 45 games, while Bars won 51 games.

Odds from download 1xbet

The bookmaker does not give a clear advantage to either team, setting similar odds for victory in regulation time: Salavat Yulaev’s victory – 2.38, Ak Bars’ victory – 2.6. You can consider the option of a draw in regulation time; 1xbet offers a similar development of events with odds of 3.75. As for the expected total performance of the teams, the bookmaker offers the following quotes: total over (4.5) – 1.89, total under (4.5) – 1.85. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Traditionally, the confrontation between hockey teams Ufa and Kazan in the KHL becomes a real event for fans. Each team has its own trump cards, which they will try to implement in the upcoming match. We suggest paying attention to Salavat’s attack, which has been quite effective in recent matches. After the New Year, the average performance of the Ufa team is at the level of three goals per match, and on home ice this figure is even higher. Our prediction is Individual Total Salavat Yulaev is more than 2.5 with odds of 2.15.