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Everything is in favor of Avtomobilist today, and anything but a decisive victory for them would be a surprise. The home team are hot in pursuit of the playoff, currently in seventh place but only three points ahead of the first team outside the playoff zone and they have no room for error. Here they have to go for the win, so they'll be highly motivated, which I see as a major factor in this match. They are a typical home team, suffice to say they recently beat Bars, Jokerit, Ufa and Omsk at home, all teams far ahead of Niznekamsk. Avto have been solid all season long, and will most likely get to the playoff, and the previous two matches against Niznekamsk were 3-0 and 4-1 victories, so they like this matchup. Here I'd just like to add that the away team are weaker now than they were in those matches, as their team is falling apart due to financial issues, so they no longer have two of their three best attackers from that period, and their main defender Eronen is injured, a player who was also good in organizing and offensive plays. Niznekamsk have no chance to get to the playoff anymore, they know it, and their only goal right now is to survive financially, as they're among the teams who've been hit the worst by the crisis. Another important detail is that they've been ill over the holidays, as a virus struck down the team, and almost all of them were bedridden, so Avto are in much better shape there. Avtomobilist have the class, previous record and great shape in home games all working in their favor. Highly motivated against a bottom quality team, I believe they are worthy of backing in this handicap.