MOSCOW (Interstat) — Spartak Moscow will host Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on Saturday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Luzhniki Minor Arena in Moscow, Russia.

Spartak enters with a 5-3 record, while Avtomobilist is 2-6. The home side will look to rebound after a 2-1 overtime loss to Avangard Omsk in its most recent game. Alexander Vl. Belyayev is the player to watch for Spartak. The forward scored in that game and recorded five shots on goal, two penalty minutes and one hit. Across his recent appearances, Belyayev has six goals and two assists, including a two-goal, two-assist effort against Severstal Cherepovets and a two-goal game at Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He also scored in wins over SKA Saint Petersburg and has been among Spartak’s most active shooters. German Rubtsov added an assist in the most recent game, while Mikhail Maltsev had four shots on goal, two penalty minutes and one hit.

Avtomobilist will seek to end a difficult stretch that continued with a 5-2 loss at Severstal Cherepovets in its most recent game. Maxim Tarasov is the player to watch for Avtomobilist. The forward had one assist, four shots on goal and four hits in that defeat. Alexander Kadeikin scored once and added four shots on goal and one hit, while Maxim Denezhkin contributed one assist, three shots on goal and one hit. Tarasov has consistently been involved in the offensive and physical play for Avtomobilist, with an assist, 11 shots on goal and 14 hits over his recent six games. His strongest recent showing came in the loss at Severstal Cherepovets, where he matched a team high with four shots and four hits.

Spartak’s recent run includes wins over Traktor Chelyabinsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Severstal Cherepovets, SKA Saint Petersburg and CSKA Moscow. The 8-0 win over Severstal was the club’s most lopsided victory of the season. Spartak also won at Metallurg and at Traktor before falling at Salavat Yulaev Ufa and then losing in overtime to Avangard Omsk.

Avtomobilist’s wins this season came against Dynamo Moscow and at Sibir Novosibirsk. The club has also dropped overtime decisions to Avangard Omsk and Traktor Chelyabinsk. Avtomobilist will look for more from Tarasov and Kadeikin as it tries to generate offense against a Spartak team that has scored at a high rate in several recent victories.

Following this game, Avtomobilist is scheduled to host Lada Togliatti, while Spartak is set to host Traktor Chelyabinsk. Both clubs will continue their KHL schedules next week.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Spartak 2, Avtomobilist 1.