From the surface, this looks like a hotter match than a Siberian's banya, with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg ready to face off Vityaz Podolsk.
Yekaterinburg’s goalkeepers, Vladimir Galkin and Evgeny Alikin, have a peculiar feature in their stats, which, to put it politely, is a peppercorn's roundness in saves and save percentage. Meanwhile, Dmitry Shikin for Podolsk seems to have done something this season, posting up some saves. Not quite the Harlem Globetrotters, but at least it's not a donut.
Let's wander into player territory now. For Yekaterinburg, Brooks Macek and Anatoli Golyshev have been twirling their magic stick, both contributing to the score sheet recently. As for Vityaz, Ivan Chekhovich and Dmitri Buchelnikov have stats like a Russian doll... just when you think you’ve reached the end, there are yet more surprises inside.
Looking back in the rearview mirror, our past matchups show a close shave - skin of their teeth type victories for Yekaterinburg. Also, overall, Avtomobilist holds a slightly better season record than Vityaz. What’s that phrase they use, pressure makes diamonds? Yes, that’s it!
Reviewing some recent results, Yekaterinburg haven't been exactly soaring like an eagle, while Vityaz has done a bit more of the winning thing. Maybe they woke up on the right side of the bed or something.
So, what’s the crystal ball showing? Seems like Vityaz might just have the edge, and given the recent performance dynamics, a 2-goal margin seems reasonable.
Did you get that? Good. Because I don't repeat myself.
Albert’s Prediction: Vityaz Podolsk by 2