Slovan Bratislava and Kairat Almaty will reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League third round qualifier at Tehelen pole on Tuesday night.
The hosts will return to their capital headquarters this week after falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat in last Tuesday's first leg.
Thus, this tie is still delicately poised ahead of this week’s return match, with the victor progressing to the play-off round to take on Scottish champions Celtic.
Vladimir Weiss' hosts are two games into their domestic campaign, posting one win and one draw so far.
Kairat Almaty, on the other hand, are 19 games into their Kazakh Premier League season, where they currently hold a three point lead over Astana at the summit of the standings.
The two teams both enjoyed a free weekend ahead of this week’s make-or-break second leg in the Slovakian capital.
How the bookies view it: Bratislava to bounce back
The bookmakers fully expect Slovan Bratislava to bounce back this week, with a home win as short as 11/20 on Boylesports.
Kairat Almaty are as big as 15/4 to emerge from Tuesday night's second leg victorious while the draw is also considered unlikely at 3/1 with the same firm.
Head to head: Just the second-ever meeting
Despite both teams being regulars on the Champions League qualifying circuit in recent years, Slovan Bratislava and Kairat Almaty crossed paths for the first time ever during last week’s first leg.
Players to watch: Strelec to strike?
David Strelec has four goals in as many games for Slovan Bratislava this season, making him a player to keep an eye out for when the bookies release anytime goalscorer prices for this fixture.
Dastan Satpaev scored the only goal of last week’s first leg. The Kairat Almaty forward could also be worthy of consideration for an anytime strike if or when player prices are made available.
Predicted line-ups
Slovan Bratislava will be unable to call upon the services of Rahim Ibrahim after the midfielder received a red card during last week’s first leg.
After serving a suspension last week, Giorgi Zaria is expected to come back into the Kairat Almaty squad for Tuesday night’s second leg.
Slovan Bratislava: Takacs; Sharani, Kashia, Bajrict, Blackman; Yirajang, Pokorny, Weiss, Tolic, Barseghyan; Strelec
Kairat Almaty: Zarutsky; Mata, Martynovich, Sorokin, Kasabulat; Gromyko, Arad, Tapalov; Jorginho, E Santos; Satpayev
Anything else catch the eye?
Last week’s first leg was a tight and cagey affair, and I suspect another low-scoring contest could be on the cards in the Slovakian capital this midweek.
With that in mind, Under 2.5 Goals looks a great value option on Tuesday night at 11/10 on Boylesports.
Both Teams to Score No would have also been a winning selection last week, with a repeat here looking like another eye-catching selection at even-money (1/1) on Boylesports.
GambleAware