Kuktosh vs. Khujand Odds, Prediction, and Pick – Tajikistan Higher League, April 19

Khujand has been the main challenger to Istiklol over the last few seasons but has struggled to start this campaign with any real direction and now must face Kuktosh, who won convincingly last time out.

It is only early days, but it already looks like it will be battle between the reigning champions and the rest. So this game could be a good indication of who is likely to be in contention this year.

You can find out more in this Kuktosh vs. Khujand betting preview.

BetOnline is definitely not expecting Khujand to falter again this weekend, as the bookmaker has made the visitors the clear favorite despite some poor performances in the first two games. Kuktosh may be the underdog here, but the odds for a home win or draw are attractive.

Kuktosh showed it meant business before the season even kicked off by winning the FFT Cup. The hope was that Mukhiddin Odilov would carry on scoring the goals that would make the club from south of the capital one of the main challengers to Istiklol’s dominance in recent years.

A goalless draw with Regar-TadAZ in the opening fixture was not a terrible way to begin the season, but the 3-0 win away at League Cup winners Istaravshan was impressive, even if Kuktosh definitely profited from the home side going down to ten men. Odilov didn’t get off the mark there, but manager Rakhmatullo Fuzailov will be hoping that will change on Sunday.

Khujand’s manager Nikola Lazarevic will just be hoping that his side can show some consistency and control this week after two outings that have not suggested that the club will push for honors this season. The way it allowed Khatlon to take charge of last weekend’s fixture suggests that there is still a lot of work to be done.

None of the new arrivals have really sparkled yet, and with Istiklol unlikely to drop many points throughout the season, this Khujand team needs to gel quickly so that it doesn’t lose many more of its early games.

BetOnline may be confident that this is the week that Khujand gets its act together, but I’m not so sure. If anything, the 3-2 scoreline in the defeat to Khatlon flattered Lazarevic’s side, and it could struggle in more games this year. That being said, there is enough talent in the squad to get something from this fixture. Kuktosh will be no easy touch, though, and I’m going to go for a high-scoring draw here.