Zenit vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction, 12/8/2020 Champions League Pick, Tips and Odds

by Guy Bruhn - 12/7/2020

Game: Zenit vs Borussia Dortmund

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Location: Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia

TV: CBS All Access

Odds/Point Spread: Zenit (+389) Borussia Dortmund (-138)

Jadon Sancho and Borussia Dortmund (3-1-1 in Champions League) travel to Gazprom Arena on Tuesday where they'll meet Zenit (0-1-4 in Champions League). The goaltenders protecting the net are Mikhail Kerzhakov for Zenit and Roman Burki for Borussia Dortmund. The odds on this matchup have Zenit priced at +389 and Borussia Dortmund are at -138. The total opens at 2.75.

Zenit faced off with Club Brugge in their last match and went home with a loss by a final score of 3-0. Zenit tried 15 dribbles in this matchup and completed 6 of those attempts for a rate of 40.0%. In sharing the ball, they finished this match with a 89.0% passes received rate by connecting on 390 out of their 438 pass targets in their last game. Concerning shot accuracy, Zenit finished at a 50.0% rate by hitting 13 shots on target out of 26 shots. Zenit is averaging 2.18 goals per 90 minutes (37 goals in total) and have accounted for 29 assists in all matches this year.

Sardar Azmoun is a player you are going to want to keep your eye on for Zenit. Azmoun has been in the starting lineup in 126 contests during his soccer career and he has earned 0.54 goals per 90 minutes. The forward from Iran has earned 68 goals in 11,336 minutes played. He has 27 assists while earning 34 yellow card cautions during his pro soccer career. Someone else who should impact this match is Artem Dzyuba, the forward taking the field for Russia. He has helped on a goal 66 times so far in his career while scoring 125 goals. Dzyuba has accumulated 25,427 mins in 286 starting assignments and has been given 30 yellow card cautions. He scores 0.44 G/90 so far in his pro soccer career.

The man who is expected to protect the net for Zenit is Mikhail Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov has played for a total of 9,742 minutes and is sitting with 346 saves during his career. His goals against per 90 mins is 1.16 (126 goals given up) and his save % is .741. The keeper representing Zenit has seen 468 shots sent his way in 107 career starting assignments. Kerzhakov (40-28-41 record in his career) has tallied 32 shutouts, which has earned him a 29.9% shutout rate.

The last time they took the pitch, Borussia Dortmund finished locked up with a final of 1-1 against Eint Frankfurt. Borussia Dortmund finished the match with a 42.9% successful dribble rate by completing 9 out of the 21 dribbles they attempted. They finished this game by completing 494 of the 573 passes they attempted earning a rate of 86.2%. Borussia Dortmund connected on 5 shots on target out of their 16 shots attempted which gave them a 31.3% rate when they last took the field. Having accumulated 22 goals and 18 assists for all their matches, Borussia Dortmund averages 2.20 goals and 1.80 assists per 90 min.

Jadon Sancho should be able to be counted on for Borussia Dortmund. The forward from England has accumulated 6,066 minutes and has scored 30 goals. He has 4 yellow card cautions thus far in his career and has assisted a teammate on a goal 37 times. He sports an average of 0.45 goals per 90 and has been in the starting lineup in 66 matches so far in his career. You should also keep an eye on Marco Reus, the forward taking the field for Borussia Dortmund. He has collected 133 goals so far in his career while assisting a teammate on a goal 67 different times. Reus has been given 36 yellow card cautions in 24,570 professional minutes played (285 career starts). His goals per 90 average so far in his career is 0.49.

Roman Burki will be residing in front of the goal for Borussia Dortmund. Burki has tallied 101 shutouts while defending 1,278 shots attempted against him in 27,813 mins throughout his career. He sports a save percentage of .703 and his clean sheet rate is 32.7%. He has surrendered 1.27 goals per 90 mins while he holds a record of 153-73-84. So far in his career, Burki has conceded 392 goals and has earned 899 saves in 309 starting assignments.

Who will win tonight's Champions League game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Borussia Dortmund (-138)

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Zenit vs Borussia Dortmund Prediction, 12/8/2020 Champions League Pick, Tips and Odds

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