UNICS vs Lokomotiv-Kuban. The battle for third place in the VTB United League begins

The battle for the bronze medals of the VTB United League is about to start, which will be little consolation for these clubs. UNICS lost three matches in a row and after a very successful match gave up the series with Zenit. After such a slap in the face, it will be very difficult to recover and achieve a positive result. Of course, the team will try to win at least third place in the current draw, but it will be incredibly difficult to get out of the current crisis.

Lokomotiv-Kuban did not look like a favorite before the start of the playoff stage, so it "burned out" quite expectedly. But in the series against CSKA, the team showed a desire to win, character and will. Therefore, Krasnodar has significantly risen in the eyes of specialists and ordinary fans. On May 19, the rivals will meet each other on the floor of the Basket Hall arena in Kazan.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• UNICS vs Lokomotiv-Kuban facts
• History of the confrontation
• ODDs
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on UNICS vs Lokomotiv-Kuban

UNICS

UNICS started the series with Zenit extremely convincingly. The away victory significantly increased the club's chances of getting into the playoffs. But after that, the situation completely changed in favor of the opponent. The result - three defeats in a row and the loss of the opportunity to compete for the main prize of the competition. This should hit the morale of basketball players very hard, who definitely did not expect to end the fight for gold medals so early.

It is noticeable that there is no mutual understanding in the team, legionnaires and Russian athletes look fragmented, they do not particularly differ in mutual understanding on the site. They try to pull the blanket over themselves, they don't even try to synergize. All this leads to such a result, now you have to fight for bronze. True, the team may simply not find motivation for this.

Lokomotiv-Kuban

The team from Krasnodar has demonstrated that it has the character and will to win. The series with CSKA was simply bound to be a real test, since the opponent is the main favorite of the current draw of the competition. But Lokomotiv-Kuban showed that it is quite capable of fighting on equal terms with such a strong opponent. Perhaps only the second match of the series turned out to be one-shot. The rest of the meetings were as equal as possible, pleased with the struggle and intrigue until the very final siren. Therefore, the team is definitely in high spirits. He will try to do everything to brighten up not the most successful season. Bronze medals are a great opportunity to realize such plans. There should be no problems with motivation, since even this result will be a great achievement.

History of the confrontation

Interest in the confrontation is also fueled by the fact that the rivals are very even in the history of personal meetings. So far, they have played 39 head-to-head matches. The minimum advantage was on the side of UNICS, which won 20 times. In 19 matches, Lokomotiv-Kuban turned out to be stronger. The last full-time match between the rivals took place in March 2022. The team from Krasnodar took the opponent on the home floor and turned out to be stronger with a score of 101:94. The main hero of that meeting was McCollum, who is the leader of the "railroad" throughout the season. He scored 30 points, had one rebound and three assists.

ODDs from download 1xbet

UNICS is in crisis, but will play at home, so it still looks like a favorite. It is offered to bet on the victory of the hosts with a coefficient of 1.37. Lokomotiv-Kuban will try to put a stick in the opponent's wheels and win back the visiting victory. Such an outcome is evaluated with a coefficient of 3.184. The base total of the match was set at around 168.5 points. They give a bet on its penetration with a coefficient of 1.93, and the reverse option is quoted at 1.89. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

UNICS got into a series of failures, from which it is very difficult to get out. He will try to correct the situation, but it will be incredibly difficult to turn the current situation around. In addition, the team is forced to cope with internal contradictions; foreign players and Russian basketball players are not particularly pleased with mutual understanding. Lokomotiv-Kuban will try to take advantage of the opponent's weakness. He expects to seize the initiative from the very start of the series, calmly dominate his opponent. We predict that Krasnodar will retain a head start of +6.5 points.