The coronavirus pandemic might have shut down the majority of football across the globe, but the Belarusian top flight continues, and FC Minsk will welcome 15-time champions BATE Borisov this weekend.
FC Minsk have won two of their three league matches thus far to occupy third spot in the table, while BATE sit down in 11th, having gathered just three points from their three fixtures thus far.
Match preview
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It seems incredible that the Belarusian league is continuing despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there are currently no signs that the division will be postponed, and both sets of players will be desperate to pick up a positive result at Stadion FK Minsk on Sunday.
FC 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.
Andrey Razin's side have made an encouraging start this campaign, meanwhile, picking up six points from their three matches to occupy third, three points off the summit. They started with back-to-back wins over Belshina and Dinamo Minsk but lost 2-0 to the leaders Energetyk-BGU last weekend.
Minsk were victorious when they last locked horns with BATE back in September, running out 3-2 winners at Stadion FK Minsk in front of just over 1,700 spectators. The Red and Blues will be hoping to pick up another positive result this weekend, although BATE will certainly be determined to return to winning ways.
BATE are 15-time winners of the Belarusian Premier League and had actually landed 13 straight titles before finishing second to Dynamo Brest last season. BATE collected 70 points from their 30 league games last term but ended five points off the pace set by Dynamo Brest, who only suffered one defeat.
Kirill Alshevsky's side have actually played six times this season, with three of those matches in the cup. Indeed, they have progressed to the semi-finals of the competition, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Slavia in the first leg of their last-four clash on Wednesday, with the second leg to come later this month.
In the league, though, BATE have collected just three points, losing to Energetyk-BGU and Slavia in their opening two matches before recording a 1-0 victory over Ruh Brest last weekend.
BATE are actually the only Belarusian side to have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, which was the case in 2008-09, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2015-16. They have huge pedigree on home soil, having also won three Belarusian Cups and four Belarusian Super Cups.
Alshevsky's side have ground to make up this season in the league, though, and will be looking for three points against Minsk ahead of their next fixture at home to Torpedo BelAZ on April 18.
FC Minsk form: WWL
BATE Borisov form: WWLLWL
Head To Head
FC Minsk recorded a 3-2 victory when the two teams last locked horns in September 2019. BATE have won 27 of their last 36 meetings, though, suffering just seven defeats in the process and scoring 60 times.
BATE actually won 14 straight matches against FC Minsk between May 2012 and April 2017, while there has not been a draw between these two sides since May 2011, which is certainly an interesting statistic.
We say: FC Minsk 1-1 BATE Borisov
FC Minsk's start to the season must be respected - in addition to the fact that they have won seven of their last eight home league matches - but BATE will be determined to return to winning ways after a disappointing opening to the campaign in terms of the league. A case could be made for both sides to pick up all three points, but we are expecting a low-scoring draw at Stadion FK Minsk this weekend.
Matt Law
