Wednesday 23/07/2014, 17:00, Champions League Qualifiers, Aktobe vs Dinamo Tbilisi

Aktobe vs Dinamo Tbilisi Preview

Dinamo Tbilisi missed out on a great opportunity of traveling to Kazakhstan for the second leg, on the back of a comfortable lead. Not only they failed to score in front of their fans, but allowed the goal in the second half which made it impossible for them to recover. Now they need to achieve the impossible, by scoring twice on the road, against a team that knows how to properly defend a narrow margin advantage.

Aktobe vs Dinamo Tbilisi Odds

At Bet365

Aktobe 2.00, Draw 3.30, Dinamo Tbilisi 3.40

Aktobe vs Dinamo Tbilisi Tips

In the first leg, it was the hosts who dominated the first part of the match, but Aktobe knew how to make the most of the few opportunities to score. Once they got in the driver's seat, they never took the foot off gas and they were on the verge of scoring a second goal.
Compared to the first leg, Aktobe is expected to play a bit more aggressively, even though the starting formation will be virtually identical. Tsarikaev and Neco were chosen to pair upfront in Georgia and the Brazilian scored the winning goal, so he is guaranteed a place in the starting formation.

Antonov was preferred to Zenkovich not only because he is more experienced, but managed to score twice in just five matches. Zenkovich is expected to act as a substitute for one of the strikers, just as he did one week ago and it is very likely for him to spend the entire match on the bench if Aktobe doesn't concede a goal.

The visitors find themselves between a rock and a hard place, knowing that they need to score at least once to push the game into overtime. Keeping a clean sheet away from home has been particularly difficult for Dinamo Tbilisi. Since the regular season ended more than two months ago, the Georgian team lost all games against better opponents and only prevailed in friendly games.

Key Facts

• Both Munoz and Martsvaladze will play from the first minute, after being used as replacements for other strikers in the first leg.
• Aktobe leads the domestic championship and is yet to lose a game in front of their fans this season.

Aktobe vs Dinamo Tbilisi Prediction

Momentum has shifted and pressure is now on the visiting team, who needs to score without allowing a single goal, to keep their hopes alive. Even with their best strikers on the pitch, Dinamo Tbilisi is unlikely to offset the first leg result and it is more plausible that they would succumb under pressure. Bet365 offers even odds for the hosts to win once again, which is great value for a team that won the first leg just one week ago.

Bet: Aktobe @ 2.00 with Bet365