Lokomotiv Pamir vs. Fayzkand Pick – Tajikstan Higher League, April 5

Two newly promoted clubs go head to head on the opening weekend of the new Tajikistan Higher League season as Lokomotiv Pamir welcomes Fayzkand to the capital city.

Both teams will be thinking that this is an excellent opportunity to kick off the campaign on a positive note and pick up its first points of the year.

Read on for the Lokomotiv Pamir vs. Fayzkand odds, as well as my prediction and free betting pick for this match.

Lokomotiv Pamir’s championship-winning season in the second tier last year has obviously influenced BetOnline’s pricing of this game, with the home side clear favorites to pick up a first win of the season. The odds for a draw or an away win look more attractive, but this will be a tough game for the visitors.

Lokomotiv Pamir has one of the youngest squads in the Tajikistan Higher League, and a lot of trust has been placed in the hands of the influx of U19 players to do the job in the top flight. Only the two Ghanaians at the club are over 22 years of age. Shakhrom Sulaymonov has also come in from champions Istiklol, and he may be the one to look out for up front.

Fayzkand manager Tokhir Muminov has brought in a number of new players to fill the middle of the pitch in a hope of giving his steam greater stability against a better standard of player than his team is used to. But there are arrivals up front as well, and it might be a question of which team settles down the quickest as to who ends up winning here.

Lokomotiv Pamir would seem to have the advantage after winning the second division title last year as well as being at home. But first weekends of the season can throw up more than their fair share of surprises, no matter where in the world you are.

That being said, I’m still going to go for Lokomotiv Pamir to start off its season in style and pick up the win this weekend. The players will know their opponents well from last season, and the bulk of the starting eleven will be the youngsters that have come up through the ranks at the club together.

For more soccer previews and news, check out our soccer blog.

If you’re betting on the other Tajik League games this weekend, take a look at the following.