Dinamo Brest vs Shakhter Soligorsk Predictions

• Under 2.5 goals has landed in seven of Dinamo Brest’s nine competitive games this season.
• Shakhter have seen under 2.5 goals in eight of their nine matches this term.
• Four of Shakhter’s last five defeats away from home have been by 2-0 scorelines, two of which were against Dinamo Brest.

Rocky start to Dinamo Brest’s title defence

Dinamo Brest’s defence of their Belarus Premier League title took another hit last weekend as they were beaten at Vitebsk in a rather torrid affair. The only goal of the game was scored three minutes from time from the penalty spot, and the defeated visitors ended the game with nine men after Kiki and Khacheridi were dismissed in the second half.

This result is illustrative of how Dinamo Brest’s season has gone so far. It’s been a rocky defence of their title, with two wins, a draw and two defeats leaving them 9th in the standings but still just three points adrift of the top spot.

That being said, the hosts did earn a crucial 2-0 win over Shakhter Soligorsk in the first leg of their Belarus Cup semifinal earlier this month as well as defeating them in the Belarus Super Cup at the start of the season, so that will give their confidence a much needed boost ahead of this tie.

Shakhter endure worrying run

Shakhter are by no means a bad team – they have finished in the top three of the Belarus Premier League every year since 2010 – but they are enduring a particularly rough start to the 2020 campaign.

Their 2-1 loss at home to Slutsk last weekend made it four competitive games without a win, and their single league victory thus far puts them 13th in the table after five games. The fact that they haven’t beaten Dinamo Brest in any of their last five meetings will be a concern as well.

Goals hard to come by in Brest

In any case, goals are expected to be at a premium on Saturday. Just two of Dinamo Brest’s nine competitive games this season have seen more than three goals scored, while Shakhter have only seen over 2.5 goals land in one of their nine outings. With none of the last five meetings between these sides being high scoring affairs either, backing Under 2.5 goals looks a solid choice here.

Dinamo Brest clearly have the psychological advantage going into this one, winning their last two meetings with Shakhter 2-0 and both coming in the last two months. Four of Shakhter’s last five away defeats have been by that scoreline too, so we’re backing 2-0 for our correct score prediction.