Real Madrid hosts Villarreal in a game from 8th round of La Liga on Saturday at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kairat faces Omonia Nicosia for the second leg of the Champions League second qualifying round. The match is on Wednesday, July 29, at 16:00 UK Time.
Match Preview
The result of the first game in Nicosia (1:0 for Omonia) leaves the second leg completely open. The hosts will be looking for a turnaround in the overall result, and Kairat's form is impressive. The Kazakh giants have won eight of their last ten official matches, with the only defeat coming against Omonia in Nicosia. In the championship, the team continues to demonstrate excellent results - the successes with 5:0 over Okzhetpes, 4:2 against Kiziljar, 3:1 against Atyrau and the latest victory with 2:1 over Ordabasy show that the attack is in excellent shape. On their own field, Kairat plays confidently, rarely makes mistakes and almost always manages to score.
Omonia Nicosia have been playing strongly lately and there is reason for the visitors to believe that they will continue to advance. The Cypriot team is unbeaten in its last ten matches before the return match in Almaty, having recorded victories against Kairat, Panathinaikos, Dinamo Bucharest, APOEL Nicosia and Aris Limassol. The team has shown stability in both defense and attack, and in several of its recent matches has scored two or more goals. The approach in the upcoming match could prove decisive, as I expect the visitors to play a counterattack against an opponent who will be forced to take risks.
Prediction for Kairat - Omonia Nicosia
Kairat rarely fails to score in front of their own fans, but in their quest to erase the deficit they will almost certainly leave open spaces. Omonia Nicosia have already shown that they are able to punish such situations and have players capable of scoring in a small number of situations. All the prerequisites point to a dynamic match and I expect there to be goals on both goals.
Prediction: BTTS
