Rubin Kazan hosts Rakow Czestochowa in the second leg of the Europa Conference League qualification semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, August 12th at Ak Bars Arena (Kazan)
Rubin is approaching the match in Kazan as one of the leaders of the Russian championship. The footballers from the capital of Tatarstan scored the maximum nine points in three rounds and share the first line in the standings with Zenit and Dinamo Moscow. On August 8, the Red-Greens won a comeback victory over Akhmat Grozny at home (2-1). The visitors took the lead after Daniil Utkin's goal before the break. In the second half, the home team got a numerical advantage. Goalkeeper Georgi Shelia received a direct red card. Immediately after that, Sead Haksabanovic equalized the score, and in the 86th minute, Akhmat’s striker Gabriel Iancu scored his own goal, which decided the outcome of the game in Rubin's favor.
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After three starting rounds in the Polish championship, Rakow Czestochowa is in 4th position in the standings with six points. Only Lech Poznan, Jagiellonia, and Pogon are ahead of the Red-Blues by one point. On August 8, Rakow spent a lot of energy in the away match against Wisla (1-2). The footballers from Krakow breached the defense of Rakow in the 24th minute thanks to the efforts of Yaw Yeboah. At the beginning of the second half, the visitors' position was complicated by a direct red card received by midfielder Giannis Papanikolaou. Although Rakow were left with ten men, they were able to turn the tide of an unsuccessful match. Goals by Marcin Cebula and Vladislavs Gutkovskis put Wisla in the position of the club that had to win back. The hosts tried to get away from defeat, but the Red-Blues kept the winning score until the final whistle.
Rubin nominally remains the favorite of the confrontation, but the match against Akhmat showed that Slutsky's team is experiencing problems with opponents who play deeply in defense. Rakow, which has modest human resources, will also play defense first, and this could create problems for the home team, as in the match in Poland. It is possible that the teams will get to extra halves or even a penalty shootout.
Prediction for the match: Rakow to win with +0.5 handicap
