Soligorsk vs Maribor -Even though Soligorsk’s Champions League scoring drought continued in last week’s first leg 0-0 stalemate, Sergey Tashuev’s club is now well-positioned to attempt something no Miners team has done before in the Champions League: advance to the second round of qualification.
This week’s hosts have previously lost all four games to Siroki Brijeg and Ludogorets by a score of 1-0, respectively, in 2006-07 and 2021-22. If they can advance to the second round, Tashuev’s current team will go down in history for more than just one reason.
Soligorsk has frequently travelled to the second and third rounds of Europa League qualification, and should their time in the top division finish this week, they will still be given the chance to try to advance in the Europa Conference League.
The Miners are presently sixth in the 2022 Belarusian Premier League but have games in hand on the teams above them. Thanks to their defensive prowess at the New Sakarya Stadium, they have only allowed two goals in their past six competitive home games.
Maribor, the 16-time Slovenian champion, would have a much stronger European resume going into their first-round matchup with Soligorsk, but it wouldn’t matter if Radovan Karanovic’s team couldn’t score goals.
This week’s visitors to Maribor played out a 0-0 draw after three straight friendly stalemates, which may not have come as a major surprise given the retirement of club legend and all-time leading scorer Marcos Tavares.
Three days after their match against Soligorsk, Maribor will begin the defence of their Slovenian top-flight championship. Karanovic’s team has never lost in the first round of Champions League qualification, but they were defeated by Coleraine at that level in Europa League qualifying last year.
The previous events do not favour the Violets, who have made three group stage appearances in the Champions League, most recently in the 2017–18 season, and Soligorsk will not be taken lightly on their home field.
Soligorsk vs Maribor – Betting Analysis
The Shakhtyor Soligorsk rearguard has put in significant effort, as evidenced by their more recent scorelines. The opponent hasn’t gotten much from Shakhtyor Soligorsk, as only three of their previous six games’ worth of goals have found the back of the net.
Prior to this match, Maribor had 10 goals in their previous six games, demonstrating their offensive prowess. Having said that, Maribor has also struggled defensively, giving up goals in five of those same matches. We’ll check to see if the pattern can hold here.
Shakhtyor Soligorsk has had little trouble lately finding the correct defensive formula at home, and winning the Champions League would at least make up for their early losses in defending their Belarusian title.
The more esteemed guests, who might need to rely on penalties to avoid being eliminated in the first round for the first time ever, can be expected to be frustrated by Tashuev’s team once again.
Soligorsk vs Maribor – Head-to-Head
Our Prediction: Under 3.5 Goals
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