The Belarusian Premier League has begun its fourth gameweek of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Slavia Mozyr preparing to welcome Rukh Brest to the Stadyen Junatsva on Monday.
Slavia go into the game following a 1-0 win over BATE Borisov in the Belarusian Cup, while Rukh lost to the same side by the same scoreline in their most recent league fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Slavia have strung an impressive run of performances together in the last couple of weeks, as football in Belarus continues to be played uninterrupted despite the worldwide chaos caused by the outbreak COVID-19.
Mikhail Martinovich's side have beaten 15-time league winners BATE twice over their last three matches, with a 2-1 victory over current Vysheyshaya Liga champions Dinamo Brest adding to an enjoyable start to the campaign.
Slavia have triumphed in the Belarusian top flight twice in their history, but they have only finished inside the top 10 on two occasions times since their second league crown in 2000.
Despite impressive results in the early 2000s, Slavia spent six years in the second tier between 2005 and 2011 and were also relegated from the Belarusian Premier League as recently as 2017.
However, Martinovich ensured that Slavia's return to the second division was a brief one, and the 40-year-old is now witnessing his side make a name for themselves in the top flight.
The two-time champions are in the semi-finals of the national cup and head into the visit of Rukh sixth in the table. A victory could see them break into the top three following a 1-1 draw between second-placed FK Slutsk and third-placed FC Vitebsk on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the newly-independent Rukh have enjoyed mixed fortunes during their maiden campaign in the Vysheyshaya Liga.
Since Rukh's formation as an amateur side in 2016, they have achieved two consecutive promotions to reach the pinnacle of football in Belarus, and sit 12th in the table prior to Monday's fixture.
Aleksandr Sednev's side chalked up one win and two losses from their opening three fixtures, although those defeats have come against table-toppers Energetyk-BGU and 15-time champions BATE.
Rukh's first-ever game in the Vysheyshaya Liga saw them overcome seven-time league winners Dinamo Minsk 1-0, and Sednev's side have conceded just two goals in the 2020 campaign thus far.
Furthermore, Rukh's away form has been nothing short of remarkable over the past year; Sednev's side did not lose a single game on their travels in the second tier last season, but they will certainly face an uphill battle against a rejuvenated Slavia side on Monday.
Slavia Mozyr Vysheyshaya Liga form: LWW
Slavia Mozyr form (all competitions): WLWWW
Rukh Brest Vysheyshaya Liga form: WLL
Head To Head
Monday's clash will be the inaugural meeting between the two sides, and Rukh boast five players in the national youth team compared to Slavia's four.
Slavia's Igor Tymonyuk and Rukh's Artem Petrenko are both preparing to face off against their former clubs, with the two players swapping sides in February.
We say: Slavia Mozyr 2-0 Rukh Brest
Rukh deserve a high amount of praise for their incredible rise to the top-level of Belarusian football, but they are coming up against a Slavia side who boast a strong set of early-season results, so we are going for a comfortable home win.
Ben Knapton
