The second round of UEFA Europa Conference League qualification kicks off this week. On Thursday, Kazakh club Kairat welcome Hungarian side Kisvarda to the Central Stadium.
Kairat booked their spot in the Conference League qualifying campaign with a third-place finish in last year’s Kazakhstan Premier League.
Meanwhile, Kisvarda earned their right to qualify for the Conference Legue after finishing second in the Hungarian top tier.
Kairat head into the first leg on a three-game winning streak across all competitions, scoring over 1.5 goals in each of those victories.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Kazakh club have avoided defeat in each of their past six outings – picking up five wins and one draw in the process.
Still, Kairat currently find themselves sixth in the Kazakhstan Premier League – six points behind first-place Aktobe.
Having won just six of their 15 league outings this year, Kairat will be hoping to enjoy more success on the European stage.
On the flip side, Kisvarda’s domestic campaign doesn’t begin until later this month – meaning they have played a series of pre-season friendlies recently.
The Hungarians have won two, drawn three and lost one of their six friendlies, scoring over 1.5 goals on five occasions.
Kisvarda enjoyed a six-game unbeaten streak at the end of the previous campaign, picking up four wins and two draws to cement second place.
If they can pick up where they left off last season, they will give themselves a fighting chance of qualifying for the Conference League.
Head-to-head: This will be the first competitive meeting between Kairat and Kisvarda, so we have no previous results to analyse for this clash.
Team news: Having netted goals in all competitions this year, Jose Kante will be hoping to add to his tally as he leads the line for Kairat on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Kisvarda star Claudiu Bumba will be looking to build on an impressive 2021/22 campaign. The Romanian bagged 11 goals and five assists last term.
Having picked up five wins and one draw in their previous six outings, Kairat look set to seal a healthy first-leg advantage on Thursday.
Forebet predicts that Kairat will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory over Kisvarda.