FK Khujand vs Khatlon Bokhtar Predictions

• FK Khujand finished 15 points behind Istiklol in second place in Tajikistan last season
• The hosts lost just two of their ten home fixtures in 2019
• Khatlon drew five of their 11 away fixtures

Khujand not certain to win again

FK Khujand started their 2020 Tajikistan Vysshaya Liga season with a comfortable 3-1 victory over CSKA Pamir Dushanbe last weekend but they can be taken on at short prices when they face Khatlon.

Khujand finished a distant second behind Istiklol in 2019 and, while manager Nikola Lazarevic will want to bridge the gap to the perennial champions, they have a lot of ground to make up. 

Lazarevic’s task was made all the more difficult when top goalscorers Tursunali Rustamov and Dilshod Vasiev departed at the end of last season and that could tell in the new campaign.

The hosts are the team to beat in this contest regardless, but there looks to be little value in heavy odds-on quotes given that they have lost a lot of the firepower which took them to a runners-up berth last season.

Khujand won six of their ten home matches in 2019 but, in Khatlon, they face an opponent who are tough to beat on the road despite their lowly standing in last season’s table.

Visitors should not be written off

The visitors finished seventh of eight teams last term, avoiding relegation via a playoff, but only six points separated them from third place in a congested heat so they are clearly not as bad as their league position suggests.

Khatlon will hope to solidify their top-flight status this season and set about doing just that when they won 2-1 at home to Istaravshan on opening weekend thanks to goals from Parviz Baki-Akhunov and Ekhson Boboev.

Aslillin Habibulloev’s team earned a hard-fought victory despite being reduced to ten men with 28 minutes remaining and they will be optimistic about getting at least a point against their hosts.

Khatlon lost just four of their 11 away matches last season, conceding just 13 goals on the road, so this could prove tougher for Khujand than the betting suggests.