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Dinamo entering the Moscow derby injury-decimated

The home team is missing the best goal-getter aand player Maxim Pestushko, plus they have key absences in defense, which will toughen the job against the dangerous Spartak

Dinamo is going into the Moscow derby decimated by numerous key injuries and following a home loss to Lokomotiv. They didn't do well in this last match, proving the absences affect their game a lot, especially in the offense where they miss the main striker Pestushko. According to the latest information, he'll be absent for the next two months due to complicated face injuries, which will be a huge handicap considering he's the best goal-getter in the league.

They managed to score only one goal against Lokomotiv, right in the last minute of the match, which was decided by then. Despite 27 shots on goal and five powerplay opportunities, they couldn't break their opponent's solid defense. They conceded two quick goals in the second period, and the third goal conceded in the third period decided the match. This was a deserved defeat as they were behind in every segment of the game, apart from their typically good penalty killing. 

They are the best team at defending on boxplay in the league, with a fantastic 96% average. They conceded a goal in only two out of 57 boxplay situations, which is a fantastic record. On the other hand, their defense is not that good since they concede many goals in 5-5 situations, which annuls the successful penalty killing.

- We didn't underestimate the opponent, not a chance. We just didn't play well, but there's a reason for that. We simply have too many absent players and we struggle to fill in all of the gaps in the team - Dinamo coach, Oleg Znarok, complained.

Two top defensemen Granak and Jalasvaara will be absent for two and six weeks, repsectively, while the above-mentioned Maxim Pestushko, Dinamo and KHL's best goal-getter, also got injured. This is a huge handicap for them, which tops the absences of Soin, Shafigulin, Vishnevski and Budkin, creating the holes in the team that just can't patched up.

Spartak has made a big step towards play-off this season and finally put together a respectable team, which led to seven wins in 12 matches. They have some real big names on their team, and some talented players. They recently brought in a big star Zherdev to strengthen the offense, as well as a reliable defenseman Klementev to sharpen the competition.

Investment into Zherdev immediately started paying off, as he assisted twice in the last match and led the team to victory over Omsk, showing signs he might be back to old form when he was one of the best players in the league. They lost their last round match to Barys, but they played a heroic match against the team boasting the best offense in the league. They had a reserve goalie on their goal and still managed to keep Barys at only a goal difference up until six minutes before the end of the match when they conceded two more goals due to a lapse of concentration. They fought back scoring two goals in the last two minutes of the match, but it was too late for a complete comeback. 

So far, Spartak have been better in defense than offense, conceding slightly more than two goals on average, which is a great record. Just like Dinamo, they have a great penalty killing record with 94%, making them one of the best teams in the league. If they do their best here, they should certainly have a lot to hope for, especially considering their first goalie, Jeff Glas, is back after a match absence.

- Generally speaking, I think we played an OK match against Barys. We had our chances, but we knew what kind of attackers we were up against. We shouldn't have made mistakes because they punish you immediately, and we conceded our first goal after a mistake, which was a wind at their back - Spartak coach Fedor Kanareykin said, not too disappointed with the defeat.

Unlike Dinamo, Spartak is not at all that troubled with absences. Only Medvedev and Zheldaov are missing but they're not key players. They played two matches this summer during the prep season, with a win apiece. But Dinamo had a complete team at the time, now they're literally missing half of the team. 

I will repeat my bet from two days ago since nothing has changed in Dinamo, in fact, I am even more sure after that game two days ago. In their last eight games Dinamo went over this limit only once and that happened against Slovan, one of the weakest teams in the league. Two rounds ago they lost their best scorer (player) Maxim Pestushk who is the leading league scorer and that has proven to be huge handicap in the game against Lokomotiv. With him they rarely scored four goals, but without him they scored just one against Lokomotiv. They have many problems with absences and injuries and they will be severely limited today and it is unlikely they can score four goals. Spartak are one of the best defensive teams in the East and they concede little over 2 goals per game and in 12 games so far they conceded over three goals only three times. They conceded four in their last game against Barys, but Barys are the best offensive team in the league and Spartak played their second goalie in that game and today their first goalie Glass is returning. In tough Moscow derbies we never get the chance to see a lot of goals, so if we take into account the statistical data and all the problems Dinamo have with their lineup I really do not see them going over three goals. The odds are set too high and are worth taking.