Zire will face the local Omonia in the play-offs of the Conference League today in Nicosia.
The article of the Russian website soccer365.ru dedicated to the balance of forces in the first game of the Baku representative against the Cypriots, Idman.biz reports.
According to the author of the article, Omonia may not have enough game practice: "The Cypriot club played only four games this season - all in the Conference League classification. Yes, Omonia won all four, but there are nuances. Firstly, it did not face serious opposition - Torpedo Kutaisi and Fehervar are not the most serious rivals. Secondly, four matches are not enough to reach optimal conditions - the Cypriot club is just gaining momentum. Also the pre-season raises questions: zero wins, three defeats and only one draw in four friendlies.
The injury of Roman Bezus, the scorer of Omonia, who scored 14 goals last season and was out of action until October, is mentioned, and all hopes are placed on Willy Semedo: "The Cape Verdean also scored 14 goals last season and he started the current season well - two goals in four matches. He scored against Kutaisi Torpedo and Fehervar. However, Valdas Dambrauskas has little choice: the forward position in the team is not strengthened. Although Omonia signed a contract with a number of free agents, it did not do so in the offensive line.
The crisis in the attack is mentioned: "In the two-match confrontation with Ferehvar, Omonia made only 29 shots on the opponent's goal, but scored only 3 goals - there are problems in using scoring opportunities."
The article states that Zire is ready to challenge a superior opponent and has already started the season: "It has already played 9 matches, won six of them, and lost only one to Sheriff.
It is reported that Zira's losses are minor and the focus will be on Rafael Utzig: "It is this guy that both fans and opponents should pay special attention to: the Brazilian has scored in four of the last five matches."
The good performance of Azerbaijan team on the road is noted: although Zire does not have much experience in the European Cup, this season it performs well on the road - both in European Cups and in domestic competitions. Having achieved three wins and one draw in four away matches of the season, the team managed to defeat even a serious opponent like Sheriff (1:0). Sitting in defense, Zire counter-attacked in the 89th minute and scored the only goal of the match. Most likely, this is exactly the plan of the Azerbaijanis for the match with Omonia - this is perhaps their only chance to succeed."
Although the author of the article considers Zire an outsider in this pair, he does not rule out that the Baku club can surprise.
Prediction of the site for the match - 1:1
Idman.biz
