Zenit Saint Petersburg will host Lokomotiv-Kuban in a regular season game.
Where:
SIBUR Arena (7120 seats), Saint Petersburg, Russia
When:
October 27, 2019, 14:30 (14:30 MSK)
Broadcast:
Match TV, VTB United League site
Fonbet odds:
Zenit win — 1,55
Lokomotiv-Kuban win — 2,45
Differential «-4» for Zenit — 1,9
Differential «+4» for Lokomotiv-Kuban — 1,9
Total over/under 161,5 — 1,9
Looking back
Janis Timma vs Ryan Broekhoff. Season 2016/17
Face to face:
Lokomotiv-Kuban vs Zenit faceoff opened 2018/19 season. Back on that day, Krasnodar left no chance to Zenit getting the biggest margin in a season opener – 96:64, “+32”. The secound round played in Saint Petersburg went to Loko again – 94:78. Zenit paid back in the playoffs where the teams met in the first round. Saint P ignored Kranodar’s homecourt advantage and smashed the rivals 3-1 in a best-of-five series.
Their historic faceoff in the League is 8-6 for Krasnodar.
Intrigue
2019 playoffs series decided the fate of the teams. After passing through Loko, Zenit fought CSKA in semifinals which attracted Euroleague’s attention. The results were not the key factor, but Saint Petersburg received what Loko had always been dreaming about – Euroleague. After that loss in the quarterfinals Loko started rebuilding. Andrey Vedischev, the president, said the defeat from Zenit – after two great wins in a regular season – showed lacked of will in his team. Dragan Alic was the only foreign player to stay in club.
The rivals have different and somewhat strange records: 2-2 for Zenit, and 2-1 for Loko. The Big five is kind of upside down at the moment: 3-2 for CSKA, 1-2 for UNICS. Petersburg are on the edge of falling into negative win-loss record.
The week
Zenit has it NBA style: three games from October 21 to 27. Joan Plaza’s team were beaten by Kalev and Panathinaikos. Loko’s schedule is smoother. Last League game was held on Saturday (Loko beat UNICS), and then Krasnodar lost to Partizan in Eurocup on Tuesday. What they share in common is mediocre results (three losses in last four games for Zenit, two for Loko). Another failure will mark the start of the season as poor.
Teamplay
Zenit and Loko have good ball movement and set pieces. Zenit (20.8 assists per game) is on the 3rd place in assits as Loko leads the ranking (23.3).
Home sweet home
This season, Zenit still haven’t won a game at SIBUR Arena. Two Euroleague games (Real, Panathinaikos) and a game againts Nizhny were lost.
Loko suffers bad road games though. The record of their four road games (including Eurocup) is 1-3.
Familiar faces
This game will be a matter of honor for Zenit’s rookies Mateusz Ponitka and Dmitry Khvostov who were unloaded by Loko in 2019 offseason. This will be the first time they face their ex-team.
This could be a special game for Andrey Zubkov raised in Krasnodar, but he is out to injury. Evgeny Voronov (2014-2016) and Anton Ponkrashov (2014) also played for Loko, but it’s hardly anything special for these veterans.
Grigoriy Motovilov came to Saint Petersburg with Triumph, spent three years in Zenit system (2015-2018). He didn’t get to the main roster, and later played in Superleague-1 teams. After a success at the World Cup in China he came back to the League. The point guard is motivated to prove himself.
Dmitry Kulagin played for Zenit in 2014/15 season. This was a career-changing year: Dmitry changed his attitude and came to the next level. Later he signed with CSKA.
Duel
Gustavo Ayon vs Alan Williams.
Zenit and Loko have their stars in the frontcourt. Loko builds its plays with Williams, Johnny O’Bryant and Sam Dekker.
Ayon stars in Saint Petersburg. His list of titles and achievements outweights the one of the abovementioned trio.
Ayon and Williams are in a great shape, even the mask can’t hold the Mexican. Star centers with NBA experience and nearly double-double stats will have a clash in the paint.
