Vityaz Podolsk - Hc Sochi predictions and free betting tips [06/02/2024]

Continental Hockey League regular season 2023/2024. The fifth match of the game day and the ongoing battle to avoid becoming the last in the West. Only this time it's a head-on collision, unlike two days ago. Vityaz will be hosting HK Sochi in Balashikha.

Vityaz Balashikha 

If Vityaz loses this match in regulation time it loses all playoff chances, understandably the chances are already slim, but mathematically, the shot at the playoffs could be lost in this game. Vityaz's recent performance has been appalling with only one victory out of the past seven matches and one solitary point from six losses. Interestingly, the only team Vityaz managed to beat was Dynamo Moscow, a conference leader. Meanwhile, Vityaz managed to lose twice to Kunlun and once to HK Sochi, direct competitors in the fight to avoid the bottom spot in the conference.

Currently, Vityaz is in 11th place in the conference with 43 points from 59 matches. These points came from 13 outright victories, five beyond regulation, and seven losses with a point. The remaining 34 matches, Vityaz lost without additional points. Despite this, Vityaz continues to score the least in the West with 118 pucks and stands third from last in goals conceded with 197 pucks.

HK Sochi

Now, moving onto Sochi. Worth noting their bounce back from a slump in which lost 15 games consecutively, they managed to win five out of the next eight. Plus, in one of the three losses gained a point. Sochi has turned from an outsider, where losing points would have been a disgrace, into a team that is competitive, even with conference leaders. Interestingly, in the last match against Dynamo Minsk, Sochi pulled off a victory, despite previously losing two straight matches to direct competitor Kunlun from China.

Sochi currently stands in 10th place with 45 points from 59 matches, achieved through 15 outright victories, four beyond regulation, and seven losses with a point. The remaining 33 matches ended in defeats without additional points. Sochi is third from last in goals scored (145) and considered the worst in the West for goals allowed.

Head-to-Head

The teams have played against each other in 38 matches. Vityaz has won 24 times, while Sochi only came out on top in 14 games. This season, Vityaz has two victories with a 3:2 and 3:1 score, while Sochi was the winner of the most recent meeting with a 3:2 score.

Prediction

My prediction leans towards a victory for HK Sochi, as their current form is significantly better than Vityaz's.

Prediction on Total

As for the total prediction, I'm partial to the ITO2 (2.5) for 2.24. Because Sochi has been scoring adequately in recent matches and Vityaz has been allowing quite a fair amount of goals.