Preview: Kairat vs KuPS - prediction, team news, lineups

Kairat have the daunting task of overturning a two-goal deficit as they welcome KuPS to Central Stadium on Tuesday for the return leg of their Champions League second qualifying round.

The opening fixture ended in a 2-0 victory last midweek at Kuopio in favour of the Finnish outfit, who seized control of the tie thanks to an impressive second-half showing.

Match preview

A 49th-minute strike from Mohamed Toure and Jaakko Oksanen’s goal in the 71st minute brought an end to Kairat’s eight-game unbeaten run in competitive fixtures, leaving the Almaty-based side with a mountain to climb ahead of the decisive clash on home soil.

While Rafael Urazbakhtin’s men tread a fine line in their quest for continental progress, they responded in ideal fashion over the weekend by dispatching Tobol 3-1 in league action to remain second in the Kazakhstan Premier League standings.

That win marked Kairat’s third in the last six outings across all competitions and brings a measure of belief heading into Tuesday, especially considering each of those victories came by a margin of two goals or more.

This includes their 2-0 triumph over Olimpija Ljubljana at Central Stadium in the previous round, a result that helped the Kazakhs secure a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Kairat have exhibited dominance on their turf across Champions League qualifying campaigns, winning all four of their previous home matches in the competition – three of them by exactly two goals – and a similar outcome on Tuesday would keep their hopes of reaching the next stage for the first time alive.

Meanwhile, KuPS are making only their second-ever appearance in this competition and took a firm grip of this tie after last Tuesday’s win at Vare Areena, which extended their perfect record at the ground in this season’s preliminaries.

The Finnish side edged past Moldovan outfit Milsami in the previous round with a slender 1-0 aggregate win, having claimed a narrow first-leg victory in Kuopio before battling to a goalless draw away that sent them into uncharted territory.

Looking to script another historic chapter, and with fresher legs to call upon, the Canaries enter this contest on the back of an eight-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, further highlighting the team’s resilience.

It is also worth pointing out that Jarkko Wiss’s men have lost just four of their 18 away games in 2025, with only two of those defeats coming by margins greater than one goal.

Kairat Champions League form:

Kairat form (all competitions):

KuPS Champions League form:

KuPS form (all competitions):

Team News

Kairat are set to be without central midfielder Dan Glazer, who misses out through suspension after an accumulation of yellow cards, though defender Amirbek Barzabayev is back in contention after serving a lengthy ban for disciplinary reasons.

Having utilised a 4-3-3 setup in Kuopio, Urazbakhtin could be tempted to stick with the 4-4-2 formation that worked to good effect in the victory over Tobol.

Jorginho remains the go-to man in attack, having played a part in all three of Kairat’s Champions League qualifying goals so far, and the he will take further confidence into this tie after finding the net over the weekend.

The Brazilian may once again be paired up front with Dastan Satpayev, although Ricardinho is also pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score in the last outing.

As for KuPS, head coach Wiss opted for a 4-3-3 system in the first leg but could be inclined to adopt a more reserved approach in Almaty, potentially shifting to a 4-5-1 to protect their two-goal advantage.

Mohamed Toure is expected to spearhead the attack as the lone forward, while the midfield five could feature captain Petteri Pennanen, Otto Ruoppi, Jaakko Oksanen, Doni Arifi and Josylyn Luyeye-Lutumba to provide steel in the middle of the park.

Kairat possible starting lineup:

Moreno; Rodrigues, Eduardo, Barrelo, Aceves; Pedraza, Montiel; Dominguez, Bautista, Quinones; Cadiz

KuPS possible starting lineup:

Dos Santos; Verhoeven, McNair, Pilcher, Bombino; Valakari, Godoy, Tverskov; Dreyer, Gutierrez, Lozano

We say: Kairat 2-0 KuPS (Aggregate 2-2 — Kairat to win on penalties)

Kairat have it all to do on Tuesday, but their impressive home record in this competition suggests they will come out swinging from the first whistle, with an early goal likely to fire up the crowd and set the tone.

That said, we expect the Kazakh outfit to pull level on aggregate, though they may need penalties to finally break KuPS’s resilience and book their place in the next round.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.