The 2nd legs of the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League are being played this week and the next fixture features the clash between Kazakhstan side, Kairat Almaty, and Israeli outfit, Maccabi Haifa, at the Ortalıq Stadion on Wednesday night.
A 1-1 draw away from home in the 1st leg at the Sammy Ofer Stadium saw Kairat Almaty hold hosts, Maccabi Haifi, to a well-earned draw, and the Kazakhstan club now return to more familiar surroundings for this return leg.
MD-1 pic.twitter.com/CW3b3wugYq— Maccabi Haifa FC (@mhfootballclub) July 6, 2021
MD-1 pic.twitter.com/CW3b3wugYq
A 1-0 win away from home at Zhetysu in the Kazakhstan Cup in their subsequent match means that Kairat Almaty are now unbeaten in their last 10 matches in all competitions while the bigger picture shows that Wednesday’s hosts have lost just one of their last 14 matches overall.
Experience at Champions League level has been limited to just three ties to date but Kairat Almaty have lost just one of these while also picking up a 2-0 win over Slovakian side, Petrzalka, in 2005 and the draw with Maccabi Haifa; on the Europa League stage, Kairat Almaty have lost just two of their last six games.
Onto Maccabi Haifa and last week’s 1st leg hosts were unable to replicate last season’s home tie result against Kairat Almaty in the Europa League which they won 2-1, being held to a 1-1 this time around.
The Israeli visitors now face a tough task in this 2nd leg at the Ortalıq Stadion as they look to overcome a solid Kairat Almaty side on home soil whose unbeaten record at home in all matches has stretched to 12 games.
Maccabi Haifa may perhaps struggle with the fact that they lack competitive match fitness as the Israeli Ligat Ha’al regular season finished up at the end of May, with last week’s 1st leg tie against Kairat Almaty, being their first competitive match since then.
Nevertheless, Maccabi Haifa have lost just one of their previous 16 matches overall in all competitions, and the visitors also possess greater experience at Champions League level compared to that of their hosts.
However, just three wins from their last 13 ties overall suggests this upcoming 2nd leg is no foregone conclusion especially as all three win wins were recorded at home, while on the road, Maccabi Haifa have lost five of their last six ties in the Champions League.
Kairat Almaty therefore stand a decent chance of progressing through to the next qualifying round.