Rukh Brest will be in confident mood ahead of this upcoming clash against second from bottom outfit, Smolevichi, as they prepare to return to their Stadyen DASK Brestski on the back of an impressive away win.
Rukh Brest registered a 4-2 win on the road at Neman Grodno on the weekend which not only extended the host’s unbeaten run to five matches in the Vysshaya Liga but it also helped lift Rukh Brest up into the top half of the Belarus top flight in 8th place.
Sunday’s hosts started the new season in bright fashion as they recorded an impressive opening day 1-0 win away from home at Dinamo Minsk but they then suffered back-to-back defeats to Energetyk-BGU and BATE respectively, and the pressure was on to see how the newcomers would react.
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Rukh Brest are a resilient looking bunch though and they’ve since put together a five-match unbeaten run which includes an earlier 1-0 home win over FC Minsk along with three draws.
Indeed, Rukh Brest have drawn 3 of their last 5 matches overall with stalemates against Slavia Mozyr, Torpedo Zhodino and Gorodeya, while 7 of their 8 matches to date have resulted in under 2.5 goals.
Smolevichi remain second from bottom in the Vysshaya Liga as they suffered a third league defeat on the trot in the Belarus top flight as they lost a high-scoring 5-3 encounter against BATE, and having previously incurred losses against Dinamo Minsk and Energetyk-BGU, the visitors will be keen to avoid a fourth loss on the bounce here.
This season though has seen a continuation of problems that occurred in their last campaign in the Vysshaya Liga as the visitors are without a win to date this term, while the bigger picture shows that Smolevichi have failed to win any of their last 16 matches in the domestic top flight.
The visitors have managed to pick up just 3 points so far this season which was thanks to draws with Dinamo Brest, Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Belshina, but recent results on the road suggest that the best that Smolevichi can hope for here is a draw.
Smolevichi have drawn 4 of their last 5 matches on their travels while 7 of their last 8 matches on the road have also resulted in under 2.5 goals, and this clash looks like ending in another stalemate.