Dynamo Moscow vs Traktor. Which opponent will start the quarterfinals with a victory?

The first match of the quarterfinal series between the capital's Dynamo and the Chelyabinsk Traktor will be held on March 16 in Moscow. The venue of the game is the capital's VTB Arena.

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

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Dynamo Moscow vs Traktor

Dynamo Moscow

The blue and white became the best team of the regular season, thereby winning the Continental Cup. As practice shows, victory in the regular season does not at all guarantee victory in the Gagarin Cup; rather, statistics indicate the opposite. For a long time, this was a kind of black mark in the hockey world. For nine seasons in a row, the champion of the regular tournament could not win the Cup. The tradition was broken by the capital's army team, which achieved a kind of victorious double in the 2018/19 season. Dynamo Moscow was also burned by this, which after taking first place in the regular season sensationally lost in the first round of the playoffs, losing to Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in a seven-game duel.

In the current Gagarin Cup, Dynamo managed without such shocks. The confrontation with Minsk teammates turned out to be quite stubborn, but in the end the higher class of players from the Moscow club still had an effect. Alexey Kudashov's team started the series with two home victories 4-1 and 4-3, then in Minsk they exchanged successful matches with their opponents - a defeat of 1-3 and a victory of 3-2. It was not possible to put a winning point in the series in front of our own fans; an unexpected 1-2 misfire at home brought back the intrigue to this series. The decisive match was the 6th match of the series, which took place in Minsk. The Minsk team opened the scoring, but Dzhioshvili, Ilyenko and Uel took the Moscow club to the next round with their accurate shots.

Traktor

If the victory of Dynamo Moscow was quite expected, then Traktor’s entry into the second round can be considered a certain sensation. The Chelyabinsk team had an extremely uneven regular season, survived the resignation of their coach and, it would seem, the very fact of getting into the playoffs could already be regarded as a success. In addition, from the final sixth place, Traktor got into the first round against Ufa's Salavat Yulaev, who looked noticeably better than the Chelyabinsk club during the regular season.

Giving the advantage to the Ufa club, Traktor played fast, vertical hockey, which was the key to final success. Traktor started with a 3-2 away win, but then lost in Ufa 1-4. In Chelyabinsk, the rivals also exchanged victories, with the same score of 3-2. Traktor then won again on the road 2-1, taking the lead for the third time in this series. The denouement came in the sixth match of the series, during which Traktor was losing the score 0-2, but managed to turn the tide of the unsuccessful match, eventually achieving a victory with a score of 4-2.

Statistics

In the confrontation between these two clubs, attention is drawn to the large number of draws and, as a consequence, overtime. In the last five matches alone, the teams drew three times, postponing the identification of the strongest until overtime. Overtime – Yes 
3.9. During the regular season, the teams met each other twice and both matches ended in Dynamo's favor. The capital club won away with a score of 4-2, and then at home 4-3, beating Traktor in a shootout.

Odds from download 1xbet

It is quite expected that at the start of the series the bookmaker considers the capital club to be the favorite, with odds of 1.91 offered for their victory in the first match. The chances of success based on the results of the main time of the Traktor match are estimated at 3.4. Another draw in this rivalry can be taken as 4.1. As for the expected performance, the specialists of 1xbet put up the following quotes: total over (4.5) – 1.82, total under (4.5) – 1.96. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

The series is just beginning and none of the opponents will take risks right away. In the first round, both Dynamo and especially Traktor often played pragmatic hockey, relying on defense. It is unlikely that anything will change dramatically in the first match of the series; it is important for both teams to start with a victory. We expect a careful game from both teams, with a minimum number of goals scored. Our prediction is Total Under 4.5 – 1.96.