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

Kairat Almaty will host Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play-off round on Thursday at the Central Stadium in Almaty, with the winners over two legs securing a place in this season's Europa League league phase.

The Yellow-Blacks arrive on the back of Champions League disappointment, having lost to Levski Sofia in the third qualifying round, while the Purple & White, by contrast, remain unbeaten through Europa League qualifying and are in great form on the continent.

Match preview

Kairat’s push for a second successive appearance in the Champions League league phase ended in the third qualifying round after back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Levski Sofia, bringing an abrupt end to a qualifying campaign that had earlier seen Rafael Urazbakhtin’s side navigate two contrasting ties.

The Kazakh champions began with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory over Montenegro’s Sutjeska Niksic, winning 2-1 at home before completing the job with a 2-0 away victory, but the second round against Omonia Nicosia proved far tighter as Edmilson’s 38th-minute header cancelled out a 1-0 first-leg defeat in Cyprus and forced extra time before Kairat eventually prevailed 6-5 on penalties after Omonia were reduced to nine men.

Against Levski, however, Kairat were unable to find a way through as Serginho’s second-half strike settled the first leg in Sofia on August 4, leaving the Bulgarian champions with a slender advantage to defend ahead of the return leg.

The second leg on August 11 brought further disappointment for Kairat, with Reinaldo heading Levski into an early lead inside 13 minutes to put the visitors 2-0 ahead on aggregate, while the Kazakh champions were also forced to play away from their usual home ground because of a scheduling clash with a Kanye West concert in Almaty.

Kairat could not find the two goals needed to overturn the deficit, allowing Levski to hold firm and advance to the play-off round while the Kazakh champions dropped into the Europa League, where Belgian side Anderlecht now stand between them and a first appearance in that competition’s league phase.

Anderlecht's push for a first Europa League league-phase appearance since their return to continental competition has so far gone entirely to plan, with Vitor Bruno's side winning both of their qualifying ties to set up a play-off meeting with Kairat Almaty.

Anderlecht began in the second qualifying round against Sweden's Hammarby, drawing 1-1 away after Danylo Sikan's early strike was cancelled out by a stoppage-time equaliser from Frank Adjei, before completing the tie with a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Lotto Park, Paulos Abraham's early opener undone by Sikan, substitute Mihajlo Cvetkovic and a late Tristan Degreef goal for a 4-2 aggregate success.

The third qualifying round brought a sterner examination against Greek side PAOK, but Anderlecht again found a route through over two legs, a well-organised 1-0 win away in Thessaloniki on August 6 followed by a 3-2 victory at Lotto Park on August 13 to seal a 4-2 aggregate win and a place in the play-off round.

Sikan and Cvetkovic were again among the goals against PAOK, the same pair whose contributions had proven decisive against Hammarby, underlining how much of Anderlecht's attacking threat through qualifying has run through a settled group of forwards.

That form now takes Anderlecht to Kazakhstan for a play-off tie against Kairat Almaty, opponents who dropped down after a 2-0 aggregate defeat to Levski Sofia in the Champions League third qualifying round, with the first leg at Central Stadium in Almaty on August 20 and the return at Lotto Park on August 27.

Kairat form (all competitions):

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Anderlecht Europa League form:

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Anderlecht form (all competitions):

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Team News

Urazbakhtin has no fresh injury concerns to contend with as Kairat prepare to host Anderlecht, with the squad emerging unscathed from the 2-0 aggregate defeat to Levski Sofia in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Edmilson could return to the starting lineup after being dropped in the second leg against Levski, he scored last weekend in the league against Ulytau.

The same core group that has featured throughout qualifying, including Temirlan Anarbekov in goal and Marc Gual leading the line, should again be available to Urazbakhtin for the visit of the Belgian side.

For the visitors, Bruno does have some selection issues to work through ahead of the trip to Kazakhstan.

Ilay Camara and Lucas Hey are both ruled out by pre-season foot injuries, Killian Sardella remains a fitness doubt as he continues his recovery from surgery on a muscle injury sustained in preseason, and Mario Stroeykens is also a doubt.

Cedric Hatenboer, who has been on the fringes of the squad this season, is unavailable as well after undergoing surgery on a broken nose picked up in training, though he has not featured regularly enough for his absence to significantly affect Bruno's options.

Kairat possible starting lineup:

Anarbekov; Kasabulat, Shirobokov, Africo, Mata; Baibek, Oksanen, Mrynskiy, Mendonca; Jukkola, Gual

Anderlecht possible starting lineup:

Coosemans; Ndiaye, Biancone, Petrot, Maamar; Llansana, M. Kana, Ambros; Nga Kana, Cvetkovic, Sikan

We say: Kairat 1-0 Anderlecht

Anderlecht go into the tie unbeaten through two rounds of qualifying and with goals spread across Danylo Sikan, Mihajlo Cvetkovic and Tristan Degreef, while Kairat have managed only seven goals across their last five European matches and were held scoreless in both legs against Levski Sofia.

Expect a tight, low-scoring affair in Almaty, with the host grinding out a narrow victory despite Anderlecht's greater firepower.

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