Amur Khabarovsk - Ak Bars Kazan predictions and free betting tips [12/10/2023]

The regular tournament of the Continental Hockey League 2023/2024 is set. This Thursday's game day isn't the largest of the season, only two matches being played. The first of these will take place in Khabarovsk, where Amur will host Ak Bars from Kazan.

Amur Khabarovsk

Despite all advance preparations and bold proclamations, Amur, who splashed the market with money before the season, seems to be facing challenges. They replaced Epanchintsev with Martemyanov, adding to the expectation of a good season. However, they currently sit only ninth in the conference. This is mainly due to two victories over Lada, who fell apart on the Far Eastern trip.

For the 15 matches played, Khabarovsk has 16 points. Interestingly, they boast a mirrored situation with five victories and five losses in regular time; however, nearly half the matches ended outside of regular time. It seems this area is where Amur's main problem lies - they are quite persistent but have only one victory and four losses in overtime. Their saving grace is their low number of conceded goals, being fourth in the East with 37 goals, a score they share with their opponent.

Ak Bars Kazan

In contrast, the visitors seem to be doing well, even if they're not living up to expectations. Currently in second place in the East, for a team that was anticipated to dominate, this might not be the best result.

They managed to achieve this through eight victories in regular time and three beyond, along with just one defeat in overtime. The Kazan club has lost without compensation only four games. It's worth noting that Ak Bars has a goal difference of 15, the best in the conference. They hold second place for scored goals, with 52. Like it was mentioned before, they share fourth place with Amur for conceded goals - not a bad achievement for a team aiming for high places.

Head-to-Head

Amur and Ak Bars have had 38 matches in total, with Ak Bars taking home 28 wins, whereas Amur has only 10 victories. This year, Ak Bars proved stronger with a score of 5:1.

Prediction

According to Pinnacle, the favoured team of this match is certainly Ak Bars with odds 1.64, while Amur has 2.33. From my point of view, it's worth playing for the victory of Kazan; after all, Amur's two victories shouldn't cloud the judgement - these teams are of different calibres now.