The coronavirus pandemic might have shut down the majority of football across the world, but the Belarusian top flight continues, and Gorodeya will welcome 15-time champions BATE Borisov on Saturday.
Gorodeya have collected nine points from their five league matches to occupy fourth position in the table, while BATE sit eighth with seven points to show from their first five fixtures of the season.
Match preview
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It seems incredible that the Belarusian league is continuing despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there are no signs that the division will be postponed. The current season is now five games old, and Slutsk are sitting at the top of the table with 10 points to show for their troubles.
Gorodeya, meanwhile, have picked up nine points from their five fixtures to occupy fourth. Oleg Radushko's side actually opened their season with back-to-back defeats to Vitebsk and Shakhtyor without scoring a goal.
The team have improved in recent weeks, though, winning each of their last three fixtures 1-0 against Belshina, Dinamo Minsk and Energetyk-BGU during an impressive run of form.
Gorodeya made their debut in the Belarusian Premier League in 2015 and have finished ninth, ninth, ninth and seventh in their last four campaigns at this level. They are only a point off the summit as things stand, though, and a positive result this weekend would leave the fans dreaming of a high finish.
BATE, meanwhile, are 15-time winners of the Belarusian Premier League and had incredibly picked up 13 straight titles before finishing second to Dynamo Brest last season. BATE collected 70 points from their 30 league games last term but finished five points off the summit to relinquish the crown.
Kirill Alshevsky's side have actually already played eight times this season, with three of those matches in the cup, where have progressed to the semi-finals of the competition and will face Slavia in the second leg of their last-four clash on April 29, holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.
In terms of the league, BATE actually opened their campaign back-to-back defeats to Energetyk-BGU and Slavia but have taken seven points from the last nine available during an impressive run of form.
Indeed, they beat Rukh Brest and FC Minsk in successive fixtures before playing out a goalless draw at home to Torpedo BelAZ last weekend to move into eighth position in the table, three points off the summit.
BATE are the only Belarusian side to have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, which occurred in 2008-09, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2015-16. They will be desperate to reclaim their league title after the disappointment of last season, though, and will be eyeing all three points here.
Gorodeya form (Belarusian Premier League): LLWWW
BATE form (Belarusian Premier League): LLWWD
Head To Head
BATE have won six of the last 10 matches between the two teams, suffering just two defeats in the process and scoring 28 times to Gorodeya's 12.
The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 2-1 BATE victory back in September 2019, but Gorodeya ran out 1-0 winners when they welcomed the 15-time champions in May 2019.
Gorodeya also beat BATE 2-1 on home soil in June 2018, but Radushko's side have lost two of their last three domestic matches in front of their own supporters.
Maksim Skavysh has scored four times in this particular fixture, and the 30-year-old is once again expected to feature in an attacking position for the visitors on Saturday.
We say: Gorodeya 1-1 BATE
Both teams will enter the match in good form, with Gorodeya winning their last three in the league while BATE have taken seven points from their last three fixtures. A case could be made for both sides to pick up all three points, but we fancy a low-scoring draw at Stadyen Haradzeya.
Matt Law
