Metallurg vs CSKA. Will the hosts manage to level the score in the series?

Magnitogorsk "Arena Metallurg" April 20 will be the venue for the second match of the final series of the Gagarin Cup between the local Metallurg and the capital's CSKA. At the moment, the score in the series is 1-0 in favor of CSKA.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Metallurg vs CSKA facts
• ODDs
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Metallurg vs CSKA

Metallurg

Magnitka for the fourteenth time gets into the playoffs of the Gagarin Cup, not missing a single draw during the existence of the KHL. The team has three participations in the finals, two of which ended in triumph - in the 2013/14 and 15/16 seasons, Metallurg became the owner of the Cup, both times winning the decisive, seventh match of the series. By the way, in the 15/16 season, Metallurg was also headed by Ilya Vorobyov, and in the final the same capital army team was beaten.

The path to the current finale for Metallurg turned out to be quite winding. After the expected victory in the first round over Barys 4-1, Magnitka got into the Omsk Avangard in the quarterfinals, at that time the current owner of the Gagarin Cup. The seven-match streak has become the most productive for the entire existence of the KHL, having pleased the fans with 51 abandoned pucks. Metallurg started the streak with two home defeats 1-8 and 5-7, but later broke the unfortunate confrontation for himself, putting a winning point in the seventh match. Then there was the semi-final with the Chelyabinsk Tractor, which Metallurg passed quite easily, giving its neighbors only one game. The first game against CSKA turned out to be tense as expected. Fatal for Metallurg was the debut of the second period, when two goals hit Koshechkin's goal. Through the efforts of Karpov, Magnitogorsk reduced the score to a minimum, but the puck, already conceded into an empty net, summed up the meeting. Defeated 1-3, Metallurg for the third time in the current playoffs begins the series with a home defeat.

CSKA

Unlike Metallurg, the Army team has been without a Cup spring once since the KHL's inception, finishing outside the playoff zone in the 2010/11 season. This is CSKA's fifth appearance in the final, but the Metropolitan team has only one win so far. In the 2018/19 season, the Army team rolled over their opponents, ending the season with a triumphant 4-0 victory over Avangard in the final.

The start of the current playoffs has been excellent for the Army team. They won the first two rounds to nothing, although their opponent was formidable. Neither Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, led by former CSKA coach Igor Nikitin, nor Dynamo Moscow, led by Vadim Shipachev, could upset the Army team at least once. The Army team encountered serious resistance in the semi-finals against their teammates from St. Petersburg. After five games, Sergey Fedorov's wards were losing 2-3, but they played well in the last two games, winning 3-1 and 3-0 to open their way to the final. The first game in Magnitogorsk followed the usual pattern for the Army team. The Army team withstood the home team's initial pressure, but at the beginning of the second period they came up with two huge attacks, which ended with Andronov and Nesterov scoring. Metalurh narrowed the gap in the score, but Plotnikov's puck into an empty net sealed the victory in this game.

Statistics

The upcoming match will be 39 opponents in the history of the KHL. In terms of the number of victories won, absolute equality - each of the teams won in 19 matches. If we take specifically the matches of Metallurg and CSKA in Magnitogorsk, then here in the last 10 matches the advantage is on the side of the army club. CSKA has 6 guest victories, while Metallurg won only four matches on home ice.

ODDs from download 1xbet

In the upcoming game, the bookmaker gives preference to the army team, setting odds of 2.33 for the away win, while Metallurg's chances of success are estimated at 2.75. A variant with a possible draw at the end of regular time can be taken as 4.2. In terms of expected performance, the quotes are as follows: Total over (4.5) - 1.64, Total under (4.5) - 2.17. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Despite the defeat in the first match, Metallurg did not look doomed in attack, creating many scoring chances. To some extent, the owners were let down by the implementation - somewhere the army team was rescued by Fedotov, somewhere his own inaccuracy in the final phase of the attacks did not allow Metallurg to score more than once. Going to Moscow, losing 0-2 is not the best option, so we expect from Metallurg hockey players no less active game in attack. Our forecast is Metallurg's Individual Total over 2.5 with odds of 2.14.