If the FIFA rankings are taken into consideration, then the hosts have an edge on Friday. Belarus are placed 93rd, compared to Kazakhstan’s 125th spot.
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Belarus will be taking on Kazakhstan in the hope of registering their first win in the ongoing UEFA Nations League. Friday’s clash will see both teams heading into this fixture on the back of contrasting results in the opening two rounds. Belarus lost against Slovakia and were only able to get a draw against 10-man Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan started with a win over Azerbaijan before upsetting Slovakia in their own home. Friday’s contest will take place at the Stadion Karadorde in Serbia. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Belarus’ home matches being played at a neutral venue and without any supporters.
If the FIFA rankings are taken into consideration, then the hosts have an edge on Friday. Belarus are placed 93rd, compared to Kazakhstan’s 125th spot. However, form is with the visitors. The two victories in the opening fixtures have given Kazakhstan’s promotion bid a major boost from League C. In the last five fixtures, they only lost once and even that was in Nations League play-outs against Moldova. Despite the defeat, Kazakhstan still managed to win the tie against Moldova on aggregate.
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On the contrary, the same cannot be said for Belarus. Prior to the Nations League, their run of form was quite good, with them winning three successive friendlies. However, it was on the back of a horrific run in the 2022 World Cup qualification campaign. Besides, with no fans to support in their home matches, the task at hand will become extra difficult for Belarus. Taking all this into account, Kazakhstan will be the favourites on Friday.
Belarus could make a few changes, with one possibly being forced upon them. Zakhar Volkov came off in the opening 45 minutes against Azerbaijan, hence it is not clear whether he will be fit for Friday’s showdown. If he does not make it, then Ruslan Yudenkov could replace him on the team. With the home team, yet to open their goalscoring tally in the tournament, a lot of pressure will be on their front players, which could force the coach to make a couple of attacking changes. On the other hand, Kazakhstan could name an unchanged side or might keep the rotation to a bare minimum. Abat Aimbetov, who scored a double against Azerbaijan in the opener, will likely lead the line for the visiting team on Friday.
Belarus possible line-up: Pavlyuchenko, Khadarkevich, Yudenkov, Poltevich, Nechaev, Bacharou, Yablonski, Shauchenka; Ebong, Solovei, Klimovich
Kazakhstan possible line-up: Shatskly, Kairov, Marochkin, Malyy, Alip, Dosmagambetov; Astanov, Darabayev, Kuat, Orazov, Almbetov
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The UEFA Nations League match between Belarus and Kazakhstan will take place at the Stadion Karadorde on Saturday, 12:15 am IST.
Select UEFA Nations League 2022-23 matches will be telecast live on the Sony TEN network in India. Besides, live streaming of these matches will be available on SonyLIV and JioTV apps and OTT platforms in India.
