Zenit vs CSKA. Preview
Context
After the national team break, CSKA has already played two home games, extending their winning streak to 11 matches. Despite the significant score differences, their games against PARMA (110:91) and Samara (97:77) were far from easy for Andreas Pistiolis’ squad.
Following the game against PARMA, the head coach of the red-blues noted that his team lacked toughness. Meanwhile, Sunday’s matchup against Samara was competitive until the final quarter when CSKA’s excellent long-range shooting played a decisive role.
CSKA and Zenit are the highest-scoring teams in the regular season. The visitors average 88.8 points with 50.6% shooting accuracy, while Zenit averages 88.4 points at 49.1%. Both teams could surpass the 1500-point mark for the season in this game. Currently, CSKA has 1420 points, while Zenit is at 1415.
Moscow's point guard Melo Trimble was named to last week's top five, averaging 22 points, 4.5 assists and 3 rebounds over two games. He was joined on that list by St. Petersburg guard Xavier Moon, who scored 20 points and had 4 rebounds and assists in the game against Nizhny. They also now rank third and fourth in efficiency among all players in the United League: Melo has 20.1 points and Xavier has 19.5.
Fans will also witness a duel between the league’s top three-point shooters — Omari Spellman (57.5%) and Anton Astapkovich (49%). Another CSKA player, Ivan Ukhov, who boasts a 50% three-point accuracy rate, is still recovering from a fractured left hand and will miss the game.
Connections
Zenit forward Andrey Vorontsevich spent 14 years with CSKA. During his time there, Andrey achieved significant success, including three EuroLeague titles and nine VTB United League championships.
Head-to-head
The rivalry between these two teams in the VTB United League spans 51 matches. So far, CSKA leads the series with 33 wins against 18 for Zenit.
Quotes
Zenit’s head coach, Xavi Pascual, shared his thoughts ahead of the game against CSKA:
After a long time we are going to play home. One big game that we know that all the supporters, they will come to the game, a lot of people will not be able to be in the stadium, so there's going to be sold out. And all of us, we wanted to be in this level, we wanted to bring this win to our fans, to make them enjoy the game. For sure, we are ready for this big event, knowing that our opponent is excellent and that we will need to play almost perfectly if we want to win.
Who. Where. When.
Opponent: CSKA
Location: СSС Arena, St. Petersburg
Date: December 7, 14:00 (local time)
Broadcast: Match TV, VTB United League website, Okko Sport, Start, Match! Igra
