Kairat Almaty vs Club Brugge
, KO: 15:30 , Almaty Central Stadium
Kairat Almaty have been eliminated from this season’s UEFA Champions League, meaning this encounter against Club Brugge is no more than a formality.
After six rounds of matches in the competition, the host only boasts one point, and they are at the bottom of the standings.
However, there have been positives for them, as the 0-0 draw against Pafos is one of the three fixtures where they failed to find the back of the net.
With that at the back of their minds, they will fancy posing a threat going forward on Tuesday.
While they may be upbeat about their chances of scoring on Tuesday, their defence is atrocious, shipping 15 goals in only six games before the latest round.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge is not the best at the moment, with a record of four defeats across seven fixtures in all competitions.
They suffered their latest defeat in the Belgian top flight, where they surrendered a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 to La Loviuere on Friday.
They will be looking to make amends for that disappointing loss, but their form in Europe is nothing to write home about, winning only one of their six games in the Champions League, with the others being a draw and four losses.
Like the hosts, their back line have frailties, as they conceded at least three goals in each of their European contests.
That said, they have to fix lapses at the back beginning with the encounter, if they are to reach the round of 16 as they did in the previous campaign.
How the bookies view it: The visitors are favourites
The Belgian side have been installed as favourites to win this encounter at 11/20 on William Hill. A win for hosts, on the other hand, is set at 4/1, while a draw is priced at 10/3.
Head-to-head: First meeting between the pair
Kairat Almaty have not played any team from Belgium in the past, and Club Brugge will be facing a team from Kazakhstan for the first time.
Players to watch: Romeo Vermant to continue his scoring spree?
The Club Brugge forward has been in red-hot form in recent months, scoring five times in his team’s last four outings.
Probable lineups
Club Brugge have a mountain of injuries to contend with leading up to this match. Former Liverpool goalkeeper is out with an abdominal strain, while Lynnt Audoor has muscle issues. Christo Tzolis and Danny van den Heuvel are also ruled out for the visitors.
The hosts have a fully fit squad aside from Israeli Ofri Arad, who has left the team.
Kairat Almaty: Anaberkov, Mrynskiy, Shirobokov, Sorokin, Mata, Baybek, Glazer, Gromyko, Jorginho, Satpaev, Santos
Club Brugge: Jackers, Seys, Machale, Ordonez, Sabbe, Stankovic, Vetlesen, Forbs, Vaneken, Diakhon, Tresoldi
Anything else that catches the eye?
Both sides have ferocious forward lines, but they are both plucky at the back. Considering the attacking and defensive record at both ends of the pitch, this encounter has goals written all over it.
As earlier stated, the home side have conceded 15 times in the competition, and only failed to score in three matches.
Meanwhile, the visitors conceded 3+ goals in their last four European exertions. Considering the reputation of the two teams, both teams to score is profitable at 4/6 on William Hill.
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