On Thursday afternoon, Shagadam host Ahal in the Turkmenistan Yokary Liga, as the visitors look to return to the top of the table.
The home side are currently fourth place in the table, just three points behind the visitors. A big enough victory could move them above Ahal in the standings.
After a poor start to their league campaign, Shagadam are now five games unbeaten in the Yokary Liga, having recorded four wins.
A defensive improvement in recent matches has helped the home team pick up better results, as they kept clean sheets in four of their last five league matches. Their recent good displays in defence have also led to eight of their last nine games in the Yokary Liga producing under 2.5 goals.
A recent six-game unbeaten run of form on home soil is also encouraging, especially three straight wins at home without conceding a goal. In fact, Shagadam have now kept clean sheets in six of their last eight home matches in the Yokary Liga.
Ahal started the season in good form and are currently only second in the table due to leaders Altyn Asyr’s superior goal difference. However, the perennial runners-up suffered a 2-1 defeat against their title rivals before suffering a 3-0 loss last time out at MERW.
Their recent league matches have certainly not been short on goals, with over 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five matches in the top-flight.
Ahal have an inconsistent recent away record in the Yokary Liga, but they have lost in two of their last three league matches on their travels. Their recent away games have relatively high-scoring, as their last three league matches on the road have produced over 2.5 goals.
Forebet predicts that Shagadam will record a victory in a low-scoring encounter to slightly dent Ahal’s hopes of a return to the top of the table.