Shakhtyor Soligorsk make the trip to Regional Sport Complex Brestsky to face Dinamo Brest on Saturday evening on the back of a three-match winless streak in the Belarusian top flight.
Meanwhile, defending champions Brest head into the game having suffered two defeats from their last three outings - form which has left the club in the bottom half of the table.
Match preview
© Reuters
When Brest ended BATE Borisov's 13-year dominance last year, they would have been eager to retain a stranglehold on the rest of the pack with a strong start to the season.
However, two setbacks in three outings, to Slavia Mozyr and Vitebsk respectively, have left Sergey Kovalchuk's team playing catch-up down in 10th position.
Nevertheless, their current standing needs to be put into context. Brest sit just three points behind leaders Slutsk, who have already dropped five points in as many games.
While it is still early days, Kovalchuk will want his team to capitalise on their opportunity to move swiftly up the table, likely placing an emphasis on an improvement in the final third.
Two of Brest's six goals have come from defender Gaby Kiki, highlighting that veteran forward Artem Milevski, also with two strikes to his name, requires a bigger contribution from the players around him.
Like their hosts, Soligorsk have endured an indifferent start to the campaign, collecting just one win and five points from their first five encounters.
Although their two defeats have come against opponents who now sit in first and third-place respectively, Yuriy Vernydub knows that his players need to produce a reaction after three matches without success.
While the Miners possess the third-best backline in the division, they also have the third-worst attack due to none of their forwards getting on the scoresheet.
Soligorsk have ended the last 10 seasons in the top three, but that is a statistic which will end if senior frontman Darko Bodul cannot end his wait for a goal in the near future.
Dinamo Brest form: DWLWL
Shakhtyor Soligorsk form: LWDDL
Head To Head
Despite their status as defending top-flight champions, it has been nine matches since Brest last recorded a league win against Soligorsk.
However, the teams are midway through their domestic cup semi-final, with Brest holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg which was staged earlier this month.
We say: Dinamo Brest 1-1 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
Given their relatively poor start to the campaign, both clubs may regard this contest as a 'must-not-lose'. With that in mind, we expect a tight game, one which could end in a low-scoring draw in an encounter of few chances.
Darren Plant
