Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Second place in Group C will be at stake when Astana and Dinamo Zagreb go head to head at Astana Arena on Thursday afternoon. The Kazakhs played out a goalless draw with Ballkani in their last group game, with the team retaining second place in the standings. Defender Aleksa Amanovic serves a one-game ban due to the accumulation of yellow cards, but there are no suspended players in the home team.
The Croats, on the other hand, are eager to put an end to their three-game losing run, but beating Astana on the road is easier said than done. Taking everything into account, we believe that punters from all around the globe can find value in betting on draw. The good news for the visiting side is that key attacker Bruno Petkovic made his return from injury in a 2-1 win over Osijek at the weekend.
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.