The reigning Belarusian Premier League champions Dynamo Brest will continue their 2020 campaign at home to Dinamo Minsk on Sunday night.
Sergey Kovalchuk's side are currently seventh in the table with 10 points to show from their seven matches, while Dinamo occupy 11th with nine points from their seven fixtures thus far.
Match preview
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Brest won their first ever Belarusian Premier League title in 2019, finishing top of the pile ahead of BATE Borisov, picking up 75 points during a very impressive campaign. Indeed, they won 23 of their 30 matches and suffered just one defeat to claim the title by five points.
Kovalchuk's side have not quite been at their best this season, though, picking up 10 points from their seven matches to sit seventh in the table. They are only six points off the summit ahead of Friday and Saturday's action but have already suffered three league defeats.
The reigning champions have actually lost three of their last five in the league, but they did record a 3-0 victory over basement side Belshina last weekend, which followed successive defeats to Vitebsk and Shakhtyor Soligorsk during a tough period.
Brest have booked their spot in the final of the Belarusian Cup, though, courtesy of an away-goals success over Shakhtyor. They will take on BATE in the final of the competition on May 24 but must first address their faltering league form if they are to launch a title challenge this term.
Dinamo, meanwhile, sit 11th in the table with nine points from their seven matches thus far. They opened their 2020 season with successive defeats but won three of their next four before suffering a 2-1 home defeat against current league leaders Slutsk last weekend.
Leonid Kuchuk's side will be desperate to find some sort of consistency in the coming weeks but goals have not really been an issue thus far, scoring 10 in their seven matches, which is the joint-third best record at this stage.
Dinamo are seven-time winners of the Belarusian Premier League, although they have not lifted the trophy since 2004. They did finish second as recently as 2017 but ended last season in fourth, losing a third of their league matches during a disappointing campaign.
Kuchuk's team recorded a 3-1 win over Smolevichi in their last match on their travels, but they have lost four of their last five on the road and face a tough examination at Stadyen DASK Brestski on Sunday night.
Brest form (Belarusian Premier League): WLWLLW
Dinamo form (Belarusian Premier League): LWLWWL
Head To Head
This has been a regular fixture throughout the years, and Dinamo have dominated the head-to-head record, winning 28 of their last 56 matches in all competitions, suffering just 13 defeats in the process.
Brest did record a 3-1 victory when they last locked horns in November 2019, but Dinamo ran out 2-1 winners in the corresponding match during the 2019 campaign. Indeed, they were the only side to beat Brest in the Belarusian Premier League last term.
Four of the last eight meetings between the two teams in all competitions have finished level, though, suggesting that Sunday's affair could be a tight encounter.
We say: Dynamo Brest 1-1 Dinamo Minsk
Both teams will be disappointed with how they have started the season, but it would not be a surprise to see them higher up the division in the coming weeks. There is not an awful lot between them in terms of quality, and we are therefore finding it difficult to separate them, ultimately backing a 1-1 draw.
