Zenit St Petersburg vs Avtodor Prediction 16 March 2025

The nature of the league is such that it was clear before the season started that the club from the northern capital would be the main competitor to CSKA in the race for the championship title. And so it happened - after 36 rounds, there is a one-win difference between the competitors, with Zenit having one game in hand. A team without financial problems can afford to invite top-class basketball players, and coach Pascual is no slouch either. He successfully rebuilt the roster after Moon's injury and Spellman's departure. Now, Fraser, Bacon, and Hunter are leading the way. Additionally, the star Shved recently joined the ranks. While Alexey is not shining yet, we are confident he will become a significant factor in the upcoming playoffs. He should be in peak condition by then. It's no surprise that Zenit is showing excellent team basketball and rarely encounters resistance. An exception occurred last week when the team from St. Petersburg barely escaped from Krasnodar against the local Lokomotiv-Kuban (92:89). The victory in the final moments was secured by Georgy Zhbanov, who hit a three-point shot after a pass from Shved.

Avtodor is not reaching for the stars, possessing a decent lineup that manages to fight for a real chance to enter the playoffs. Currently, they are in seventh place, trailing Nizhny Novgorod, who are in the coveted 6th spot, by one victory. As befits a solid mid-table team, the Saratov team alternates between wins and losses. Over the last five games, their record stands at three victories and two losses. The away match on March 11 against MBA was successful - 95:85. The key factor in their success was effective work on the boards. Saratov's basketball players collected 45 rebounds compared to only 28 by the Moscow team. In terms of scoring, Jamal Jones stood out the most, contributing 23 points. This victory allowed them to return to the seventh spot and intensify the intrigue in the battle for the last spot in the knockout round.