BATE Borisov have a mammoth task ahead as they look to overturn a 5-1 deficit against Sheriff Tiraspol in the third round of Europa League qualifying. Sheriff is in a dominant position after winning the first leg 5-1. They have already secured a spot in the playoff round. They will meet the winner of the contest between KI Klaksvik and Molde.
Preview (BATE vs Sheriff Tiraspol)
The hosts still have a lot to climb in this encounter despite Sidi Bane scoring the lone goal for the Belarusian team. Their only opportunity on goal in the 50th minute of the first-leg match last week. BATE finished third in the regular season a year ago. Shakhtyor, the league champion, and Energetic-BGU, who came in second, had points taken away. They were promoted and are currently competing in the Champions League qualification stages. They beat Partizani Tirana of the Albanian First Division 3-1 at the beginning of the month to qualify. However, they were crushed 11-5 by Aris Limassol of the Cypriot First Division.
The league performance of Kirill Alshevskiy’s team has also significantly deteriorated this year. They are now in seventh position and have won just six of their 14 games. In addition to four draws and four losses. The hosts have a solid scoring record and will need at least one goal early on to maintain their aspirations. Even though their chances of cutting the gap in this one look extremely remote. The task of maintaining a clean sheet will be more challenging for them. Meanwhile, Sheriff, the defending champions of the Moldovan League for seven straight years, are well on their way to retaining their domestic league title after defeating Spartanii Selemet 2-0 over the weekend to move them to the top of the rankings.
Their campaign began with a tight matchup against Farul Constanta, where they had to rally after falling behind 1-0 in the first leg but won 3-1 the following week thanks to goals from Jerome Ngom Mbekeli and Peter Ademo in extra time. However, in the second round, Roberto Bordin’s team found themselves losing to Maccabi Haifa by two goals.
Team News
Alshevskiy may decide to start Denis Grechikho after adding him only after halftime in the first leg because he appeared to have little reaction to his opponents’ aggressive performance last week. Since both David Anyeke and Cedric Badolo scored in the first leg, they ought to keep their spots in the front three.
Bordin may start Mono Yansane, who scored twice after replacing Vinicius Paiva in the first leg, to complete the offensive trio, pushing Paiva to the bench. With a comfortable advantage already established, Sheriff will probably try to maintain their clean sheet for as long as they can, and a goal for them early on should put an end to any residual hope for the hosts. In front of their home crowd, we predict BATE to score, but we anticipate Sheriff to triumph once more.
BATE 1 – 2 Sheriff Tiraspol
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