Astana takes on Rakow in the second leg UEFA Conference League qualification roundfinals. First leg result: 0-5. The match will take place at Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan on Thursday, July 28th.
Astana, a European Cup veteran, is the match’s host. In 2014-2019, the Yellow-Blues set a new national record by becoming the national champion. They also gained a strong reputation in European competition. They were even part of the Champions League main round. The Kazakhs also performed well in the group stages of the Europa League, which ran until 2019. Things have been worsening recently. It was in 3rd place in 2020. They then climbed but by only 1 step. It is now a battle and it is unclear who will win the final. Performances in the international arena were also affected by this. Last season, there were relegations to Dynamo (Brest), and Buducnost. After knocking out Aris, the Kazakhs lost against KuPS. The current meeting is now a formality, as nothing has happened since the defeat in Poland. In recent years,
Rkow has seen its highest point. The Red-Blues were established over a century ago. However, Ekstraklasa’s appearance was not a huge success until very recently. The real peak, or the outbreak, occurred in the new decade. They were able to win 2nd place in both the championship and the cup in the 2020/2021 draw – this was the first time ever in history. It was also repeated one year later. Marek Papshun’s wards added to their success with wins in the Supercups. In 2021, the Poles made their international debut. They managed to beat Suduva with penalties and knock out Rubin with one goal in extra time. However, they lost in Belgium to the Poles. The cycle now begins in Czestochowa. The benefit performance was a success with 5 goals scored by the Poles.
This was the Poles’ second international appearance (both in a row as well as in history). It is not surprising that they have not met with Astana, distant Kazakhstan. The game became friendly instead of being official. It doesn’t make sense to give your best, so we wait for “under 2.5 goals.”
Prediction: The match will be under 2.5 goals.
