Avtodor vs Zenit. Preview

Aleksander Sekulic’s team has traveled to Saratov for another away game in the regular season of the VTB United League. The match against Avtodor will take place tomorrow, January 11, and will serve as a good test for the Blue-White-Sky Blues at the start of 2026.

Opponent

In December, the Saratov team was strengthened by Zenit player and Blue-White-Sky Blues Basketball Academy product Pavel Zemskiy. In his debut game, the forward immediately helped the black-whites secure their first win in 13 matches — in the game against Samara (102:99), Pavel forced the match into overtime and scored 19 points.

In the next round, Avtodor defeated Uralmash at home in a tough game, 73:67, but subsequently lost against Loko, CSKA, and BETCITY PARMA. After 21 games, Milenko Bogicevic’s team sits in 10th place in the standings with 4 wins. The situation is further complicated by ongoing injury issues and a short rotation.

Head-to-head

This season, the teams faced each other in the 1st round of the regular season. That game at the CSC Arena ended with a Zenit victory, 90:67. In total, the rivalry history includes 30 games, with the advantage clearly in favor of the St. Petersburg team — 24-6.

Direct speech

Zenit head coach Aleksander Sekulic — ahead of the game in Saratov:

For us every next match is the most important one. Even though they have some difficulties with roster we know that playing in Saratov is far from easy. We need to be concentrated and ready to met opponent fully motivated.

Who. Where. When.

Opponent: Avtodor

Location: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov

Date: January 11, 15:00 (St. Petersburg time)

Broadcast: Okko Sport, VTB United League website, VK Video, Start Basket