Shakhter Soligorsk vs Neman Grodno Predictions

• Neman Grodno are winless away from home against Shakhtyor since 2010 in all competitions.
• Shakhtyor have won to nil  in nine of their last 11 Belarus Premier League meetings with Neman Grodno.
• Neman Grodno have lost 1-0 in four of their last six Premier League away games.
• Five of the last nine Premier League meetings between these sides have ended 1-0 to Shakhtyor.

Shakhtyor hope to end long wait for title

Shakhtyor Soligorsk can be thought of as Belarusian football’s equivalent of the perennial bridesmaid. Hardcore football fans will probably recognise the name from the early stages of Europa League qualification but, despite their regular appearance in Europe they haven’t won a domestic league title since 2005.

Shakhtyor have finished in the top three in every season since 2009 and have collected six runners-up medals in that period. They couldn’t even manage to tip the scales in their favour last season when Belarusian heavyweights BATE slipped up, instead allowing an impressive Dynamo Brest stroll to the title 10 points clear of 3rd placed Shakhtyor.

Still, it’s hard to deny the fact they are head and shoulders above the majority of the Belarus Premier League. They opened the 2020 season with a two-legged cup victory over Torpedo BelAZ before losing to the same opponents in their Premier League opener, but a 2-0 win at Gorodeya last weekend got their first points on the board and they will be confident of another victory on Saturday.

Neman Grodno face daunting test

The visiting Neman Grodno also got their first taste of victory last weekend as they beat Vitebsk on home soil, but getting anything out of a trip to the Stroitel Stadium will be a vastly different test.

They haven’t beaten Shakhtyor away from home since 2010 in competitive football, losing six of their last eight visits and last finding the net in 2013. This is no surprise considering that Neman Grodno have lost six of their last eight Belarusian Premier League away days, and we can’t see them pulling off an upset on Saturday.

Visitors struggle at the Stroitel Stadium

Shakhtyor have won to nil in nine of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Neman Grodno, conceding just one goal in the process and winning five of their last six home head to heads without conceding. The hosts have also won 10 of their last 13 home league games, so backing Shakhtyor to win to nil looks appealling.

However, we’re not expecting a repeat of last season’s 6-0 thrashing here. Four of Neman Grodno’s last six league away games have ended in 1-0 defeats and, with five of the last nine meetings also seeing Shakhtyor win by a goal to nil, backing a 1-0 correct score prediction could be worthwhile.