Kairat vs Slovan Bratislava Prediction: Kazakhs to make home advantage count

The league phase of the Uefa Champions League is within striking distance for both Kairat and Slovan Bratislava as they prepare to meet in the first leg of their third-qualifying round tie at the Almaty Central Stadium on Wednesday (16:00).

Kairat have already seen off Olimpija Ljubljana and KuPS to reach this stage for the first time in their history, while Slovan, who featured in the league phase last season, got the better of Zrinjski Mostar in the previous round. The winner of this tie will face Scottish giants Celtic in the play-off round and both will be looking to move a step closer to that showdown by gaining a positive result from this first leg in Kazakhstan.

Team News

Kairat manager Rafael Urazbakhtin rotated his side for the weekend league win over Ulytau, with the likes of goalkeeper Aleksandr Zarutskiy and defenders Luis Mata, Aleksandr Martynovich, Egor Sorokin and Damir Kasabulat expected to be restored to the XI for this one.

Midfielder Giorgi Zaria will play no part, however, following his red card from the bench in the previous round against KuPS.

Slovan's main selection concern centres around left back Sandro Cruz, who faces a race against time to prove his fitness following a recent muscle issue.

One man that should be guaranteed to start for Vladimir Weiss' side is in-form forward David Strelec, who has netted three times in this qualifying campaign already.

Kairat vs Slovan Bratislava Odds

With home advantage, Kairat are slight favourites at 6/5 to secure a victory from this first leg, with Slovan priced at 9/4 to return to Slovakia with a win and the draw is 2/1.

It is 10/11 for both teams to find the back of the net in Almaty, while anyone expecting three or more goals to be scored in the match can get odds of 6/5.

Kairat to win @ 6/5

This may be uncharted territory for Kairat but they have consistently proven to be a tough team to beat on home soil in European competition, taking full advantage of their opponents having to travel incredible distances just to reach the Almaty Central Stadium.

Slovan will have clocked nearly 6,000 km in travelling by the time the match kicks off on Wednesday and their hosts can take full advantage of any sluggishness in the visitors' legs.

Kairat have won all five of their previous home Champions League qualifiers, including seeing off Olimpija Ljubljana and KuPS in this season's competition, while in European football as a whole, they have lost just five of 34 home matches.

Slovan have gone eight European away games without a win and although they will fancy their chances of progressing from the tie, they may have to come from behind in next week's second leg to do so.

Today's Football Fixtures

Correct score - Kairat 1-0 @ 11/2

Not only have Kairat won their opening two home qualifiers in this season’s competition, but they have done so without conceding, seeing off Olimpija Ljubljana 2-0 and KuPS 3-0.

Slovan will mark a step up in quality, so the Team of the Nation may have to settle for a less emphatic victory this time, perhaps matching the 1-0 success they achieved domestically against Ulytau over the weekend.

A 1-0 victory would give Kairat something to hold onto heading into the return leg, while Slovan may also settle for that result if they go behind on the night, as they will not want to overcommit going in search of an equaliser and risk getting caught on the counter attack.

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