Kairat vs Pafos Prediction: Cypriots to win battle of the minnows

There’s a battle at the foot of the Champions League standings on Tuesday night (17:45, TNT Sports 3) as Kairat Almaty and Pafos go head-to-head at Almaty Central Stadium.

Alex Jack provides his best bets in his Kairat vs Pafos prediction piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the clash in Kazakhstan.

Team News

Starting with Kairat, first-choice goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy faces a race against time to be ready after picking up a minor knock.

While Temirlan Anarbekov is likely to start between the sticks for the hosts, Elder Santana and Joao Paulo are both sidelined with long-term ACL injuries.

Football Odds

As for Pafos, the visitors will be without defender Pedrao, as he’s unavailable due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Arsenal defender David Luiz will marshal the troops in the heart of the Pafos defence.

Kairat vs Pafos Odds

Kairat are 7/4 to claim the three points on Tuesday evening, while Pafos are 6/4 to head back to Cyprus with the spoils.

A stalemate in Almaty is currently 11/5, while both teams to get on the scoresheet is 10/11.

Pafos to win @ 6/4

While Pafos were thumped 5-1 by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in their last outing, their goalless draw with 10 men against Olympiacos in Greece was an impressive result in their opening game of the league phase..

The reigning Cypriot champions showed they can be defensively resilient on the road in this elite competition and that should stand them in good stead for the trip to Almaty this week.

Pafos have only lost two of their 15 games in all competitions this season and, scoring eight goals in their last two games, they should have enough firepower in the final third to edge past Kairat on Tuesday.

Mislav Orsic anytime goalscorer @ 10/3

Scoring the only goal in the league phase of the Champions League so far this season, Mislav Orsic is backed to find the back of the net against Kairat this week.

The Croatia international, who has previously played for the likes of Dinamo Zagreb, Southampton and Trabzonspor, is set to lead the line for Pafos again.

Scoring against Bayern in the Champions League will have been a big moment for the 32-year-old and Orsic will have taken confidence from that feat going into this game.

Playing against a Kairat side missing their starting keeper, Orsic looks to be great value at 10/3 to add to his Champions League goal tally in the main draw, which already stands at seven in 14 appearances.

Offers

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