FC Minsk will be looking to bounce back from three successive defeats when they travel to Slavia Mozyr in the Belarusian Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Andrey Razin's side have taken zero points from the last nine available to drop into 12th spot in the table, while Slavia occupy 10th spot with seven points to show from their five matches this term.
Match preview
© Reuters
There is no question that the fact that the Belarusian league is continuing despite the coronavirus pandemic is controversial, but there are currently no signs that the division will be postponed.
As a result, all teams and players can do is carry on as normal, and the current campaign is now five games old with Slutsk leading the division while Belshina sit bottom of the pack with two points from their five fixtures.
Slavia have made an indifferent start to the season, picking up seven points to occupy 10th position, but they sit three points off the top of the table ahead of this weekend's clash with Minsk.
Mihail Martsinovich's side opened their campaign with a 3-1 defeat at Slutsk before recording back-to-back wins over BATE Borisov and the reigning champions Dinamo Brest - two hugely impressive results.
Slavia were unable to build on the victories, though, and were held at home by Rukh Brest on April 13 before suffering a 2-1 defeat at Isloch last weekend. They actually finished eighth last term, having earned promotion to the top tier the season before but have already recorded some impressive results in the new campaign.
Minsk, who were only established in 2006, finished ninth in the Belarusian top flight last season, which was an improvement on their two previous positions of 11th and 14th.
Razin's side made an encouraging start to the season as they recorded back-to-back wins over Belshina and Dinamo Minsk in their first two fixtures to move onto six points from a possible six.
They have lost each of their last three in the Belarusian Premier League without scoring, though, suffering a 2-0 defeat at Energetyk-BGU on April 5 before losing their last two against BATE Borisov and Ruh Brest.
Minsk have also only been victorious in one of their last six away matches in the league dating back to the start of October, which will not fill their supporters with much confidence ahead of Saturday's affair.
The Red and Navy Blues are only four points off the top of the table as things stand, though, and will be looking to return to winning ways at Stadyen Junatsva this weekend.
Slavia form (Belarusian Premier League): LWWDL
Minsk form (Belarusian Premier League): WWLLL
Head To Head
Minsk have won eight of the last 17 matches between the two teams in all competitions, suffering just four defeats in the process, with the final five matches finishing level.
The last match between the two teams saw Minsk run out 1-0 winners back in September, but Slavia shaded a seven-goal thriller in the corresponding match last season.
Minsk also lost 6-2 away at Slavia during the 2016 campaign, but the Red and Navy Blues have outscored their opponents overall in the head-to-head record, netting 35 goals to Slavia's 29.
We say: Slavia 1-1 Minsk
Two of the last four league meetings between these two teams have finished level, while there was only one goal between them in their last clash in September. Both sides have also made similar starts to this season, and we are therefore struggling to separate them, ultimately backing a low-scoring draw.
No Data Analysis info
