Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Zimbru Chisinau
Match Time & Date:
31 July 2025
18:00
Prediction: 0-1
Astana
Thursday’s football game at Stadionul Zimbru pits together Zimbru Chisinau and FC Astana, the two teams that played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Zimbru aim to build on a 3-2 win over Sheriff Tiraspol, but they are still seen as underdogs in the return leg. Victor Stina is widely expected to return to the starting XI after scoring the opener in the last league match.
The Kazakhs, on the other hand, failed to turn their dominance into victory in the first leg. Astana, though, are more of a team than Zimbru Chisinau and we predict that they will prove their worth in Thursday’s showdown. There are no fresh injury worries in the visiting team ahead of the trip to Moldova. Head coach Grigori Babayan is likely to stick to the 4-4-2 formation, with duo Gripshi – Geoffrey up front.
Highlighted Team (Astana):
Astana are a Kazakh football club which was founded in 2009. The Blue and Yellows won their first domestic trophy in 2014, with the team finishing the regular part of the season in third place in the standings. However, thanks to their brilliant displays in the Championship round Astana won the national championship.
The big-spending Kazakh club have always been attracting high-profile footballers from Russia and Ukraine and it has to be noted that the likes of Yegor Titov, Andrey Tikhonov and Maksim Shatshikh played for the Blue and Yellows in the past. Nowadays Astana are considered the best football club in Kazakhstan and you should bear in mind that they won their third consecutive league title in 2016.
However, participating in the 2015/2016 Champions League group stages is considered the club’s biggest success. Astana faced the likes of Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray in Group C and they collected 4 points from possible 18 in the process. It has to be noted that they shared the spoils with Diego Simeone’s men at their Astana Arena.
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