Slutsk will be looking to continue their impressive start to the 2020 Belarusian Premier League season when they travel to Dinamo Minsk this weekend.
Vitaliy Pavlov's side are currently top of the Vysheyshaya Liga with a total of 13 points, while Dinamo sit sixth with nine points to show from their opening six games of the campaign.
Match preview
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Dinamo are seven-time winners of the Belarusian Premier League, last lifting the title in 2004. They have also been runners-up on seven occasions since then but have finished third and fourth in their last two campaigns.
Leonid Kuchuk's side made a poor start to the 2020 season as they suffered back-to-back defeats to Rukh Brest and FC Minsk before picking up their first victory at home to Torpedo-BelAZ on April 3.
A 1-0 defeat at Gorodeya on April 11 made it three losses for the season, but the three-time Belarusian Cup winners have picked up six points from their last two matches, following a 2-0 home success over Neman Grodno with a 3-1 victory away to Smolevichi on April 24.
Dinamo actually lost 10 times in the league last season, and there is no question that their supporters will be expecting an improvement this time around.
The Minsk giants have lost three of their last six home league matches, though, and face a tough task this weekend against the current division leaders.
Slutsk, as mentioned, are at the top of the table after six matches, having picked up 13 points courtesy of four victories and a draw, suffering just one defeat during an impressive start.
They are also the leading goalscorers in the league this season with 12, but it would be some story if they managed to challenge high up the division come the end of the campaign.
Indeed, Pavlov's team have only been in the Belarusian Premier League since 2014, finishing ninth, 11th, 12th, eighth, eighth and 11th in their six campaigns at this level of football.
Slutsk started their season with a 3-1 success over Slavia before suffering a 1-0 defeat at home to Dinamo Brest one week later. They are unbeaten since then, though, picking up wins over Isloch, Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Belshina, in addition to drawing with Vitebsk on home soil.
The division leaders have won their last three Belarusian Premier League games away from home, meanwhile, and will be eyeing another big result at the Dinamo Stadium this weekend.
Dinamo Minsk form (Belarusian Premier League): LLWLWW
Slutsk form (Belarusian Premier League): WLWDWW
Head To Head
Dinamo have won 10 of the last 15 matches between the two sides - including a 2-1 success last time out where experienced attacker Danilo grabbed a brace - suffering just two defeats in the process.
The Minsk giants have also scored 23 goals to Slutsk's seven; that said, both of Slutsk's victories have come in their last three meetings, including a 2-1 league success in May 2019.
Dinamo might have dominated the recent head-to-head record, but there have been some recent positive signs for Pavlov's side as they look to establish themselves at the top end of the table.
We say: Dinamo Minsk 1-1 Slutsk
We are finding it difficult to separate the two sides this weekend despite the fact that they have not played out a draw since August 2016. In truth, a point apiece would not be the worst result for either manager and avoiding defeat would be another big step in the right direction for the current division leaders.
Matt Law
