BATE Borisov sv Torpedo Belaz Zhodino

BATE Borisov will be looking for a hat-trick of wins as they host surprise league leaders Torpedo Zhodino at their state of the art Borisov Arena.

BATE BORISOV

After a rather bizarre start to the season with surprising losses to Energetik-BGU Minsk and Slavia Mozyr, BATE Borisov appear to have gotten their act together as expected and their season is back on track following two wins on the trot against new boys Rukh Brest and they showed signs that they may yet have found their footing with an impressive 3-0 win away to FC Minsk last weekend leaving them just three points shy of their opponents who are the surprising league leaders Torpedo in the Vysshaya Liga table four matches in.

As the most decorated team in Belarusian football history, BATE Borisov’s start to the season came a shocker for most football observers. It was, however, a matter of when, not if, they will restore factory settings and it did not take them long to do that. BATE are heavy favourites coming into this fixture against Torpedo. They comprehensively did a double over them last season and have now won against them in 5 of their last 8 fixtures, sharing the spoils twice and their only loss going back to 2017.

Coach Kiryl Alsheuski has no major injury worries in his squad and is very much expected to name the same first XI that played so well last weekend. Veteran midfielder Dragun Stanislav has had a good start to this campaign with his two goals. He will be quite a handful and his creative touch will be needed to unlock the mean Torpedo defence.

TORPEDO BELAZ ZHODINO

Torpedo are, quite rightly, the talk of the town at the moment in the Vysshaya Liga. They are sitting pretty at the top after picking up nine points from their first four games, winning three with just a single loss blotting their otherwise stunning start. They picked up impressive wins against Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Belshina Bobruisk to start the season, before losing 2-0 away to Dinamo Minsk in their third game. They, however, bounced back in style by shutting out a previously undefeated Energetik team 2-0 to go to the top of the league.

Yuri Puntus has put a lot of emphasis on defence this season. They have kept clean sheets in all but one their games this season – that 2-0 loss to lowly Dinamo Minsk. They have nevertheless had some struggles on the road. Torpedo have lost two of three away matches in all competitions this season and they face a stern test at the Borisov Arena where BATE have a been devouring opponents for breakfast, losing only once in their last 14 home games.

Attacking midfielder Gabriel Santos has been quite a revelation this season and is probably the most critical piece on the team. He scored the thrilling winner on opening day and was the star against Energetik last with a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win. Yuri Puntus will continue putting his faith in the Brazilian. With no injuries reported, given how the team played out last time, he is also expected to name an unchanged side for this match.

Possible Line Ups

OUR PREDICTIONS AND TIPS FOR BATE BORISOV V TORPEDO ZHODINO

BATE have found their stride at just about the right time. They impressed in their 3-0 away win last weekend and are a good value to continue their winning ways at home to continue putting pressure on the league leaders. They did a double on Torpedo last season and have only lost at home once in their last 14 home fixtures. We are backing BATE to win @ 1.41 for our first betting tip for this game. Previous meetings between the two sides have produced goal fests. 24 goals have been scored in their last 6 encounters. Last season, BATE won 4-1 at home and 2-1 away to complete the double. Both teams have quality forwards and we fancy this game to maintain the trend and have quite a few goals too. Cloubet betting app has Goal Over 2.5 @ 1.95 and we think it is excellent value for our final betting tip for the game.