Sutjeska vs Kairat Prediction: Kairat too classy for hosts

Kairat Almaty are set for smooth progress into the second qualifying round of the Champions League at the expense of FK Sutjeska on Wednesday (9pm local, 8pm). The Kazakhstan champions lead 2-1 from last week's first leg and can get the job done without too many issues in Montenegro.

Below are Sutjeska vs Kairat predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Sutjeska Niksic boss Milorad Pekovic is likely to mostly stick with the team that gave a fair account of themselves in the away leg.

New signing Kenroy Campbell is in contention to start out wide, while Marko Mrvaljevic, who scored in the 2-1 defeat in the first game, will again lead the line.

Kairat summer signing Marc Gual has impressed since his recent move from Rio Ave, scoring four goals in just six appearances, and was the matchwinner late on last week.

Gual will start alongside another of their star men, Portuguese forward Jorginho, who has 11 goals in all competitions this season.

Sutjeska vs Kairat Odds

Kairat are unsurprisingly 8/13 favourites to win on the night, Sutjeska are 16/5, with the draw 11/4.

Over 2.5 goals is an 8/13 chance, while Kairat are as short as 1/9 to progress through the tie, with Sutjeska 5/1 to turn the deficit around and advance to the next round.

Kairat to win @ 4/6

Kairat memorably qualified for the competition proper last season, when they made the League Phase for the first time in their history after coming through three qualifying rounds before knocking out Celtic in the play-off round on penalties.

After again winning their domestic league, they are aiming for a repeat this summer and got off to an ideal start last week when edging the first leg.

However, it was only an injury-time winner from Gual which secured the first-leg advantage after Montenegrin champions Sutjeska had punched above their weight on the road to draw level late on.

Last week's tie in Almaty was a fairly one-sided affair, though, with Kairat mostly dominant.

The hosts managed 15 attempts compared to the visitors' six and Kairat should be sharper being midway through their domestic campaign, whereas Sutjeska are yet to begin the defence of their title at home.

Furthermore, Kairat, who are second in the Kazakh standings this season, are on a five-game winning run going into the second leg, while Sutjesja suffered three straight summer friendly defeats before last week's loss - hardly form to worry a much more experienced European opponent.

Both teams to score - Yes @ 8/13

Sutjeska Niksic have never reached a major European competition, instead being knocked out six times in Champions League qualifying, and a familiar first qualifying round exit here would see them drop down to a more agreeable level in the Conference League second qualifying round.

The Yellow-Blacks, meanwhile, finished rock bottom of the 36-team Champions League table last term, earning just one point from eight games.

It is fair to say they were eventually out of their depth in Europe's top club competition, but they should be too good at this stage for inferior opponents again.

An away win beckons but Sutjeska can at least score in defeat. The fact they got on the scoresheet in the first leg bodes well and they did cause their hosts some problems, registering three shots on target from six goal attempts overall.

The winners of the tie will go on to play Cypriot outfit Omonia Nicosia in the second qualifying round.