Lada vs Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Prediction 4 February 2025

🔊 Will the "Owls" manage to break their losing streak this time? The Togliatti team will have another chance to achieve a long-awaited victory in a home match against Neftekhimik. The teams are neighbors in the standings, being outside the playoff zone. The preliminary predictions from bookmakers for the upcoming match are as follows: Lada's victory - 2.45, Neftekhimik's victory - 2.7.

📊 H2H

The teams have played 4 head-to-head matches in the current regular season, with each team winning 2 games. The previous head-to-head encounter at the "Lada Arena" was exciting with a score of 5:4 in shootouts in favor of the hosts.

🔵 LADA

Lada has consistently faced defeats for 6 consecutive matches. There seems to be little indication that Pavel Zubov and his team are making productive efforts to correct their mistakes. It should be noted that the "Owls" cannot boast high efficiency in home games, having earned 20 points after 24 games. After Oleg Bratash's departure, Lada's gameplay crisis has only become more pronounced. Togliatti is characterized by the second-worst power play in the "East" with 13.1% successful attempts. The "Owls'" injury list includes Vladislav Chervonenko, Mikhail Fisenko, and Pavel Koltygin.

🐺 NEFTEKHIMIK

Neftekhimik is rightly considered one of the most pragmatic teams in the KHL. Oleg Leontyev advocates cautious hockey, devoid of excessive risk. However, some lack of creativity in attack is reflected in the results of the "Wolf Pack." On average, Nizhnekamsk scores 2.16 goals per game (11th result in the "East"). Away games are particularly challenging for "Neftekhimik," with 17 points earned after 22 games (11th in the conference). Roman Abrosimov and Alexander Dergachyov remain on Neftekhimik's injury list.

📌 PROJECTED LINEUPS

Lada: Trushkov - Berezin, Ibragimov - Chernikov, Volkov, Kugryshev

Neftekhimik: Dolganov - Khlystov, Serikov - Belozerov, Dee, Barber

🥅 GOALIES

Alexander Trushkov is the undisputed choice for Lada's coaching staff in recent matches. This season, the 28-year-old Russian has played 21 games. During this period, he managed to save 90.86% of shots with a reliability coefficient of 3.

In a recent match against Minsk Dynamo (1:5), Philipp Dolganov was not at his best. The 26-year-old goalkeeper managed to save only 79.20% of shots. His average statistics are as follows (91.80% saves, GAA - 2.72, 2 shutouts).

📝 MATCH PREDICTION

Our editorial team would not expect a goal-scoring extravaganza from this encounter. The tactical plans of both teams are largely focused on defense and neutralizing the opponent's attacking potential. Moreover, both teams are still fighting for a playoff spot, so the points are equally important for them. Our prediction - total under 5.5 goals.