Astana vs Apoel Nicosia Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Astana’s hopes of extending their season are diminishing fast. Their domestic season ended with a Kazakhstan Cup victory over Kairat on Saturday, with that coming three weeks after they wrapped up the league title by a two point margin over the same opponents. Now all they have left is the Europa League, but they currently sit bottom of their group and are in desperate need of a win if they want any chance whatsoever of qualifying for the knockout stages.

They are currently five points adrift of 2nd placed Olympiakos, having lost two and drawn two of their four group games so far. One of these defeats came against APOEL in September, whilst the other came away to Olympiakos. In fairness to them, they have earned a draw at home to both Young Boys and Olympiakos.

Astana’s overall form is pretty good even with the Europa League taken into account. They have lost just one game in their last 23 outings in all competitions, winning 18 of them. Obviously the majority of this opposition was far weaker than APOEL, but the fact they got a point against Olympiakos definitely counts for something.

APOEL are coming into this game on the back of a 1-0 away defeat to AEL as well, putting them 2nd in the Cyprus 1. Liga and two points adrift of AEK Larnaca. Fortunately for them they have a bit of breathing room in the Europa League. They have won three and lost one of their four games, putting them top of the group with a five point gap between them and 3rd placed Young Boys.

This singular defeat came away from home against Young Boys as well, and they have actually failed to win each of their last three away days in all competitions. This will give Astana a great amount of belief, and they will be high on confidence after their cup triumph on Saturday.

In all honesty the quality gap between the sides in this group isn’t very great at all, and that makes the home advantage very important. With Astana having confidence and home advantage on their side as well as desperation, and APOEL losing on the road at the weekend, it makes them favourites in my eyes. Backing the hosts to win at 23/20 looks a good choice, and I’m going for a 2-1 correct score predictions at 17/2.