Top of the table clash at the City Stadium
An unexpected top of the table clash has been bestowed upon Slutsk and Vitebsk this Saturday afternoon, having flirted with relegation for much of the 2019 campaign the pair find themselves in second and fourth spot respectively having won two of their opening three games. The hosts will be favourites and have fond memories of the last time they hosted Vitebsk, a resounding 3-0 win in August, ending the campaign two places the visitors’ superior in 11th. Buoyed from their 1-0 scalp at newly promoted Smolevichi last weekend, Vitebsk will not be so easy to put away this time.
Last time out
Slutsk capped an excellent momentum building comeback win over Isloch Minsk on their travels, a side who had attained the maximum total of six points at that stage. One half of Vitaliy Pavlov’s Burkinabe contingent Souleymane Koanda gave them the lead on 16 minutes before an Aleksandr Makas second half brace within 10 minutes shellshocked the team. But they regrouped and hit back in three minutes with Egor Semenov levelling it up just after the hour mark, the result was sealed with a quarter of an hour left to play as Abdoul Gafar also from Burkina Faso converted from 12 yards. The victory saw Slutsk rise to second place, trailing Energetik-BGU by three points.
Vitebsk too had to dig deep for their win, taking the lead through Evgeni Klopotskiy in the 25th minute, the team’s first goalscorer of the season with their other being an own goal. Daniil Chalov’s straight red card early in the second period complicated proceedings for Sergey Yasinsky’s men and they escaped Ozyorny Stadium with the three points having managed just one shot on target.
One to watch
30-year-old forward Artem Serdyuk is a familiar foe for the visitors, he was instrumental bagging a brace in Slutsk’s 3-0 win in the most recent head-to-head meeting and netted two in the opening day 3-1 victory over Slavia Mozyr. Which given Slavia’s recent results looks like a much more impressive win than it did at the time of it happening. He contributed four goals and two assists in 11 appearances last campaign after joining from Russia. Having added three to his tally in the Belarusian Cup before this league season Serdyuk looks set for a stellar 2020 and could be the deciding factor in the outcome of this matchup.
Both sides will fancy their chances however Slutsk look the more accomplished team with Vitebsk’s lack of offensive talent.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
The aforementioned Abdoul Gafar got on the scoresheet but it was not enough, Vitebsk played their part in a well-contested 1-1 draw.