BATE Borisov vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk

This Sunday, the Belarusian Premier League is serving us up a top of the table clash has table toppers BATE host 2nd place Shakhtyor in what looks set to be a hard fought battle. Below we’ll be providing our pre match analysis and betting tips for this match.

We’ve taken a look at the story of the Belarusian Premier League so far this season, as well as both teams’ stats and past meetings to provide our betting tip for this clash. It’s not just a story of 1st vs 2nd, it’s attack vs defense.

Following a terrible start to the season, BATE sorted themselves out back in April and went on an 8 match winning streak, scoring 19 goals in the process. Their winning streak staggered to halt last weekend as they let a seemingly comfortable 2-0 lead slip away against midtable Vitebsk. Last weekend’s draw typified BATE’s biggest strengths and weaknesses. As the league’s top scorers, with 25 goals, they’ve had no problems at the top end of the park, however the back is where they have often left themselves exposed, especially in the early stages of the season.

If there was ever a team built to shut out BATE’s goal scoring prowess, it’s Shakhtyor Soligorsk. Having conceded just 3 goals in 12 matches this season, Shakhtyor don’t just have the best defensive record in Belarus, they are among the best in Europe. The side haven’t exactly struggled for goals either, with 17 this season they are the joint 3rd top scoring side in the league. Shakhtoyr come into this having won their last 4 league outings to nil and they haven’t conceded in the league since a mid April loss against Slutsk, who were surprise league leaders at the time.

Of the past 5 meetings between these sides have seen 2 draws, 2 BATE wins and 1 Shakhtyor victory. Further back than that you can find a long line of BATE dominance with the occasional draw. Shakhtyor now look a much more solid defensive unit this year than they have been in previous seasons, and even though BATE have looked like a side on return to dominance, we expect the Soligorsk outfit to make life incredibly difficult and frustrating for them this Sunday. There have been 11 goals in the past 3 games between the sides, but that looks set to change this time round.

We’ve taken past meetings into account when coming up with our betting tip for this match, but given how different both teams look this season compared to previous years, we’ve focused more upon this campaign’s stats and form. It’s going to be a tight and low scoring affair this weekend in Borisov.

It’s a big call this one, but based on everything, mainly Shakhtyor’s impressive defensive record so far this season, we’re going for a very slender away win.

Given BATE’s goal scoring prowess and recent winning form, we might be sticking our necks out a bit here. However, last week showed that BATE still haven’t fixed things at the back and Shakhtyor aren’t exactly shy in front of goal either.

Shakhtyor have kept 10 clean sheets in 12 matches so far this season. The 2 games they conceded in came in losses earlier on in the season, so they appear to have plugged what little gaps there were.

If there’s one team in the league that currently have a chance of putting a chink in Shakhtyor’s solid armour, it’s BATE, however we can’t see them doing it anymore than once, if at all, and think Shaktyor will grab at least one at the other end. Our betting tip for this week is to go for the surprise away win at odds of 3.1 with Paddy Power.