SKA vs Spartak. Will the St. Petersburg club put pressure on its principal rival?

The fifth game of the series between SKA St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow will be held on March 26 in St. Petersburg. At the moment, the score in the series is 3-1 in favor of SKA.

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on SKA vs Spartak

SKA

Initially, it seemed that the St. Petersburg club would not experience any problems in the quarterfinal series against the capital Spartak, as well as in the rivalry with Dynamo Minsk, costing little blood. Recall that the army team beat the Minskers in four matches, without giving up a single game to the opponent. With Spartak, this option did not work. Already the first game of the series, which took place in St. Petersburg, gave the fans another sensation, ending in a major defeat for SKA hockey players. The result of 1-6 does not reflect the overall picture of the game, which as a whole took place with the advantage of the army club. Two goals were conceded after ridiculous rebounds, two more CSKA missed into an empty net, when at the end of the match they took a risk and changed the goalkeeper to the sixth field player.

A major defeat in the first game hurt the pride of army hockey players, and in the next matches, Roman Rotenberg's wards have already played more collectedly. The next three matches of the series ended with the same score 2-1 in favor of the army team, while, despite the minimal advantage in the score, the advantage of SKA hockey players was quite tangible. The most tense was the fourth game, which went beyond regular time. The fate of the match was decided by Andriy Kuzmenko's accurate shot in the 13th minute of overtime. The Army Men won 2-1 for the third time in a row, thus becoming one step closer to the Western Conference Finals.

Spartak

It so happened that the red-whites have become the main mystery of the current playoff draw. For the first time since the 2009/10 season, Spartak made it to the second round of the Gagarin Cup, for which I have to thank Jokerit. The Finnish club stopped playing in the KHL, thereby allowing Spartak to go to the second round of the playoffs without a fight. At the same time, Spartak hockey players were left without match practice, the red-whites played their last official match on January 9.

Such a long game pause did not prevent Spartak from starting in the quarterfinal series with a victory. And here it is not the fact of victory itself that is more surprising, but the final result on the scoreboard. SKA was defeated 6-1. It is worth noting that in this match luck was on the side of the red-whites. Ricochets, goals into an empty net - all this became the key to Spartak's victory in the first game. It was not possible to develop success in the following matches. Three defeats in a row with the same score 1-2, and in the last match, the red-whites managed to transfer the game to overtime a minute before the end of regular time, but still missed the opponent's scoring attack. Now Spartak is cornered, the team will be saved only by three victories in a row, any misfire automatically means relegation from the cup.

SKA vs Spartak

Statistics

SKA and Spartak met at the start of the first Gagarin Cup playoffs in the 2008/09 season. The red-and-whites under the leadership of Milos Rzhiga confidently overcame the St. Petersburg team, having won three victories in a row. That success of Spartak so far remains the only one, in the seasons 2010/11 and 2018/19 the army team was already stronger, having beaten Spartak in the first case with a score of 4-0 in the series, and in the second 4-2. If we consider the meetings of these rivals in St. Petersburg, then here a curious detail catches the eye. Of the last 10 matches in St. Petersburg, the army team managed to win only four, while Spartak was stronger in six games.

ODDs from download 1xbet

The St. Petersburg team is a clear favorite of the upcoming match, the odds for SKA to win are 1.55. In contrast, quotes for the victory of Spartak - 5.3, or for a draw at the end of regular time - 4.6. As for the expected performance of teams in the upcoming game, here the bookmaker offers the following options for quotes: Total over (4.5) - 1.97, Total under (4.5) - 1.81. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

SKA hockey players confidently control the course of the series, proving that a major defeat in the first match should be considered an accident. You can't refuse Spartak's efforts, the team is not inferior in the power struggle, but the level of individual skill is clearly not in favor of the red-whites. Spartak looks quite organized in defensive actions, but in creation he is noticeably inferior to his opponent. Our prediction is SKA to win + Total goals scored under 5.5 with odds of 2.13.

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