Betting Tip
BATE were hardly expected to put up much of a fight in the current Conference League qualifying campaign. The yellow-and-blues were the best side in the most recent Belarusian Cup, but in the Premier League they are in the relegation zone — results like these led the club to part ways with Kontsevoy's staff. Targeted reinforcements and decent preparation brought them past Albania's Elbasani (2:1 on aggregate), but against Sion, BATE surprised the entire football world.
The Borisov side broke forward sharply from the opening minutes and moved the opposition around intelligently, creating space for themselves. Varaksa did not lose his nerve in that situation: the BATE newcomer scored a superb goal with a curling strike from distance — that opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Late in the first half, Sion's main star Boteli levelled the numbers on the scoreboard, but the favourites did not have enough for more. Yes, the Swiss team were better in terms of the overall quality of chances (1.36-0.58 on xG), but there were no clear-cut scoring opportunities — Sion were shooting from positions that were not especially dangerous.
A poor start to the Super League added to Tholot's team's other problems — they suffered an away defeat against Young Boys on Sunday (2:4). In that match, Sion allowed 3.08 xGA against opponents who finished below the red-and-whites in the previous league campaign.
The favourites will probably achieve their objective thanks to home support and the difference in class, but Sion certainly will not do enough for a rout. BATE will fight to the very end — this is their last chance to shine on the international stage. There are no questions over the Borisov side's commitment.