Athletistic / Hockey. On December 27, the central match of the next day of the regular KHL championship will take place in Moscow. For the fourth time this season, two military clubs will face each other: CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg.

The current Gagarin Cup winner will try to beat Roman Rotenberg’s team for the first time this season. Will the capital’s soldiers be able to do it?

Where will the match take place?: “CSKA Arena”;

When does the match begin: 7:30 p.m. Moscow time;

Where to see: Federal television channel “Match TV”.

CSKA

Recently, CSKA has experienced a series of failures. After the break for the KHL All-Star Game and the Channel One Cup, the red and blue lost in all 4 matches and are now closer to relegation from the playoff zone than to the fight for the top 4. Now , Sergei Fedorov’s team, with 48 points after 43 matches, occupies sixth place in the Western Conference standings, ahead of Severstal Cherepovets, which has a much smaller budget, by only three points. CSKA is already 9 points behind Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (with one game in hand).

The defensive game of the Moscow Army team went poorly: in the last four matches, CSKA conceded 14 goals. And in attack, Fedorov’s team has a lot to do: in the same four matches, the reds and blues have only scored 7 goals.

Photo source: PHC CSKA

CSKA’s potential remains high. However, the previous two seasons, which ended with the championship, clearly overfed the players and now it is much more difficult for them to get rid of their emotions. But the team should not be neglected, because the skills of hockey players have not disappeared. There is a good chance that sooner or later CSKA will break through.

SKA

SKA has won 8 of the last 10 matches. During this time, Roman Rotenberg’s team scored 34 goals and conceded 23 times. Now the St. Petersburg club does not have a clear leader, but all four attacking trios are able to demonstrate effective play and carry the team on themselves. It is clearly visible that SKA has recovered from a poor start to the season and is now in good shape. The St. Petersburg team clearly dreams of competing for leadership in the Western Conference and therefore tries to score the maximum number of points in every match.

History of personal encounters:

  • Regular KHL Championship, December 12, 2023 – SKA – CSKA 6:2;
  • Regular KHL Championship, November 20, 2023 – SKA – CSKA 2:1;
  • Regular KHL Championship, October 6, 2023 – CSKA – SKA 2:3;
  • KHL playoffs season 2022/2023, Western Conference finals, April 12, 2023 – CSKA – SKA 3:0.

Forecast:

This season, these teams’ games are fun and productive. In only one of the three meetings did the teams not exceed 4.5 goals, and in the last match the fans saw 8 goals. There is a good chance that this time the military derby will be brilliant and productive. If we talk about the result of the match, we suggest taking risks and getting ahead of CSKA. Today, the Moscow military team is far from in its best form, but sports anger should awaken in it a thirst for victory.

Photo source: KHL press service

Rates:

  • Handicap (-1) on CSKA for 3.20;
  • total more than 5 goals for 1.90.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic


@sportru