Rukh Brest vs. Isloch – Belarusian Premier League, October 25, 2020

Two of the overachieving smaller clubs in the Belarusian Premier League come together on Sunday as Isloch makes the journey west to take on Rukh Brest.

Both sides can count this season as a success, but there is still an outside chance of European qualification – so there is everything to play for.

There is hardly anything between these two according to the odds offered by MyBookie – and that is a pretty good assessment of both teams that have done impressively well in the Belarusian top flight this year. The draw bet probably holds the best value but Isloch is the slightly better team and will fancy its chances on Sunday.

It might be that Rukh Brest has just started to run out of steam, but recent results have not been quite as good as in previous months. Sitting comfortably in mid-table with just four games to go is a wonderful achievement for such a small club, of course, but even just a few more wins would see Rukh really challenging the top three.

The heavy defeat in the Brest derby last time out probably extinguished any real hopes – if there were any – of European qualification. But it has still been a season to celebrate for Brest’s much smaller second club after winning promotion to the top tier for the first time last year.

Isloch had looked as though it was also quite happy to coast along in the middle of the league for the majority of the season. But manager Vitaly Zhukovsky must have said something to his players recently, as they have not lost a single game in their last ten in all competitions.

The draw with league leaders BATE last week was particularly impressive – especially considering that Isloch came back in the second half to earn a share of the points. If this team can continue that kind of form in the next two or three weeks, there will be some anxious teams in the top three.

These are two very evenly matched sides with their own strengths and skillsets. But I do think that Isloch’s momentum could take it successfully into the final few games of the season and possibly even help it break into the top three. The results of the current top three over the next few weeks will help determine that – but I do think Isloch will do its part in beating Rukh Brest on Sunday.