Admiral vs AK Bars Kazan Prediction 20 January 2025

🔊 Will the club from the Far East hold its place in the playoff zone? Admiral still remains within the top eight of the East, but lately, they have been losing points more often than gaining them. The club has intensified its fight for a spot in the Gagarin Cup playoffs to the limit. Ak Bars, on the contrary, continues its victorious march up the standings, rarely losing points. The teams are playing against each other for the second time in two days.

📊 Head-to-Head

The opponents have met three times in the current regular season, and the "bars" did not leave the "sailors" any chance (2:0, 4:2, 5:2). In none of these matches was there a truly fierce battle - Kazan confidently took the initiative and advantage into their hands from the first minutes. The most productive player in those encounters was Ak Bars forward Kirill Semyonov, who managed to record a total of three goals and three assists. Moreover, in the last game, just two days ago, he also managed to score a goal.

⚓ Admiral

The start of the new calendar year did not go well for Leonid Tambiev's wards. In the last five matches, the "sailors" managed to beat only Nizhny Novgorod's Torpedo (6:1) and Magnitogorsk's Metallurg (4:2). In all other cases, the team was invariably defeated. Including they could not oppose anything to Ak Bars (2:5). Meanwhile, the tournament situation obliges the home team to be more active, as it will not be easy to hold onto a place in the top eight of the East. The club has no margin for error, and a few more slip-ups in a row will definitely give numerous competitors a chance. A revenge against Kazan would be a good support in this context.

🟢 Ak Bars

Kazan continues its pursuit of Traktor and is succeeding in this. In the last seven matches, Anvar Gatiyatulin's team won five times, losing only to the "hot" Avangard (1:3) and Khabarovsk's Amur (4:5). They are only five points away from the top spot, with three games in hand. Nothing can stop them from closing this gap in the near future. Systematically, the team already looks like one of the main favorites in the fight for the Gagarin Cup. The team just needs to maintain their pace at the end of the regular season and keep their winning mindset.

📌 Probable Lineups

Admiral: Konovalov - Grman, Shulak - Petukhov, Shestakov, Soshnikov

Ak Bars: Bilyalov - Lyamkin, Marchenko - Petan, Semyonov, Yashkin

🥅 Goalkeepers

Admiral's goalkeeper Ilya Konovalov once tried his luck overseas but failed to make an impact in Edmonton and now found his way to Vladivostok via Moscow Dynamo. In the last three matches played, the Yaroslavl hockey product twice maintained a 90% save rate but completely failed in the first encounter with Ak Bars. Now the guardian of the net must try to redeem himself for his numerous mistakes.

Ak Bars' goalkeeper Timur Bilyalov is gradually losing competition to his partner Artur Miftakhov and plays less frequently. However, he was the one who took to the ice in Vladivostok and showed his best side. The Kazan hockey school graduate saved 95.7% of shots on his goal, becoming one of the main heroes of the confrontation.

📝 Editorial Prediction

It's quite difficult to doubt another success for Kazan. The first game clearly demonstrated the notorious class difference between the teams. However, the "sailors" are quite capable of taking advantage of their home rink and putting up a fight against the guests. In our opinion, both teams will again prefer a fairly open scenario, resulting in another high-scoring match. Overall, Ak Bars does not close down on away games and often shows outstanding attacking efficiency without showing deference to opponents. In eight consecutive away games for Kazan, at least four goals have been scored. We believe that this trend will remain relevant. Our key bet is total over 4.5.