Isloch will be out to maintain their impressive start to the Belarusian Premier League season when they take on Shakhtyor Soligorsk at Stroitel Stadium on Sunday.
Four wins from six matches has Vitaly Zhukovsky's men sitting second in the table, four points and nine places better off than opponents Shakhtyor.
Match preview
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Isloch finished in their highest-ever position of fifth last season and made it to the semi-finals of the Belarusian Cup for the first time, where they were eliminated by Soligorsk.
Revenge is very much on the cards for the visitors this weekend, then, as they look to avenge that two-legged defeat and keep within touching distance of top spot.
Last week's 2-0 win over Vitebsk made it four wins from six matches for Zhukovsky's charges, with a clean sheet being kept in three of those victories.
That defensive record pales into insignificance when compared to Shakhtyor's, though, as the hosts have conceded just three times in their first six matches.
Indeed, Slutsk are the only team to have breached Soligorsk's backline in their last five league matches as they ran out 2-1 winners two weeks ago.
For all their strong defensive work, however, the Miners have only won two matches so far, including a 2-0 victory at Brest last time out.
Whereas Isloch have had a week's rest heading into this match, Shakhtyor were in domestic cup action on Wednesday, seeing off Brest 4-2 to draw 4-4 on aggregate.
Yuriy Vernydub's side were knocked out on penalties in the semi-final tie, however, and must now pick themselves up for this home clash with in-form Isloch.
Shakhtyor have yet to pick up a victory in their three home league games this term, while Isloch went down 3-1 to Brest in their only away outing to date.
Shakhtyor league form: LWDDLW
Shakhtyor form (all competitions): DLDLWW
Isloch league form: WWLLWW
Head To Head
Isloch lost 1-0 when the sides last faced off in the Belarusian Premier League eight months ago, with Elis Bakaj scoring the only goal of the game.
Shakhtyor have won the last three encounters, in fact, including the aforementioned victory in the semi-finals of the cup last season.
We say: Shakhtyor 0-0 Isloch
Isloch have made a very strong start to the season and have their sights on top spot, while Shakhtyor are closer to the relegation spots and suffered a cruel semi-final defeat in the cup in midweek. The visitors do not have the best of records in this fixture, however, so we are tipping this one to finish all square.
Daniel Lewis
