With a place in the second round of Champions League qualifying on the line, Petrocub Hincesti and Ordabasy will square off in the second leg of their first-round tie in Moldova on Wednesday.
The teams head into the meeting on level terms following a goalless stalemate in last week’s first leg in Kazakhstan.
Match preview
Petrocub Hincesti return to action on Wednesday aiming to progress in their first-ever Champions League qualifying campaign, having previously fallen short in their attempts to reach Europe’s second and third competitions over the last six seasons.
Their latest bid for a Europa Conference League group-stage place began in the second round last year, but the White-Blacks were dumped out by Maccabi Tel Aviv in a 5-0 aggregate defeat.
It would be a triumphant season for Andrei Martin’s side nonetheless, as they went on to win their first Moldovan top-flight title, having amassed 52 points from their 24 outings across two phases, before prevailing in the Moldovan Cup by beating Zimbru 3-1 in the final in May thanks to second-half goals from Teodor Lungu, Ion Jardan and Mihai Lupan.
On the back of that memorable campaign, the Hincesti outfit returned to action for the first time in last week’s first leg, their first Champions League outing, and they stood strong to see out a goalless stalemate on their travels in Kazakhstan.
Now heading into a meeting on level terms, Petrocub will be keen to make home advantage count on Wednesday and prevail to book their spot in the second round.
In their way stand a visiting Ordabasy team who are also in their maiden Champions League qualifying bid after winning a first-ever domestic top-flight title of their own last term.
After falling just short in the second round of Europa Conference League qualifying on their return to continental competition last season, suffering a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Legia Warsaw, the blue and whites went on to prevail in the Kazakhstan Premier League, finishing five points clear of second-placed Astana on 58 points from their 26 outings.
Aleksandr Sednyov’s side headed into last week’s first leg on the back of a strong start to their league title defence this year too, heading into the mid-season break in late June on the back of four straight victories to move three points clear at the summit of the top flight, most recently beating Kaisar 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Jasurbek Yakhshiboev and Dembo Darboe.
While they did fail to make the most of home advantage and gain an edge in their first-round tie last week, Ordabasy do now head into Wednesday’s trip to Moldova knowing a victory on the night would see them progress to the second round later this month.
Team News
Petrocub should field a similar starting XI on Wednesday to the one that was deployed in the away leg last week, with Ion Bors, Victor Mudrac and Sergiu Platica bound to continue in the middle of the defence after seeing out a clean sheet in Kazakhstan.
Mihail Platica will bid to come back in from the start in an advanced midfield role, having settled for a substitute appearance last time out after netting a team-high tally of 15 goals in 26 games last season.
Vladimir Ambros, who netted 12 of his own last time around, should continue to lead the line alongside Mihai Lupan, while Teodor Lungu and Donalio Melachio Douanla will both fight to keep their places in front of the defence.
Ordabasy should also avoid making many alterations from last week’s goalless stalemate in their 3-4-3 shape, with Ihor Plastun, Serhiy Malyi and Temirlan Erlanov forming their back three.
Dembo Darboe will hope to come into their attack from the outset, having moved onto three goals in seven league appearances this term following a loan switch from Al Nasr with goals in back-to-back outings before the first leg.
It is Jasur Yakhshiboev who leads their scoring charts with five goals so far this term, and he will continue on the right wing while Yevgen Makarenko and Askhat Tagybergen remain key men in the midfield.
Prediction
We say: Petrocub Hincesti 1-0 Ordabasy (Petrocub Hincesti win 1-0 on aggregate)
After last week’s cagey first leg, we anticipate another tight contest on Wednesday, which could be decided by a single goal.
With confidence after holding their opponents away from home, Petrocub Hincesti may come in with a slight edge, and we back them to make home advantage count and progress to the second round.