With the tie delicately poised following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Kairat and Maccabi Haifa prepare to lock horns for the second leg of their Champions League first qualifying round tie on Wednesday.
The hosts needed a second-half equaliser to salvage a draw in last week's first leg, and the victor of this tie faces a daunting second-round clash versus Red Star Belgrade.
Match preview
Hoping to make all of their European experience count when it matters most, Maccabi were thwarted for the best part of 45 minutes in their first leg against Kairat, but the Israeli champions ultimately drew first blood on the stroke of half time through former Granada attacker Omer Atzili.
However, Kairat levelled through the most unlikely of goalscorers in centre-back Nuraly Alip, although due to UEFA abolishing the away goals rule for the 2021-22 season, Kirill Keker's side cannot settle for a goalless draw in the hope of advancing.
The reigning Kazakhstan Premier League champions did warm up for the second leg in ideal fashion, though, as Andrey Ulshin scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 cup win over Zhetysu - a result which stretched Kairat's unbeaten run to 10 matches across all tournaments.
Kairat are plying their trade in the Champions League qualifying rounds for the first time since the 2005-06 season - where they were comfortably swept aside by Slovakian outfit Artmedia Bratislava - and Keker's crop will need to produce 90 or 120 minutes of near perfection if they are to reach round two for the first time ever.
The 1-1 draw with Kairat in the first leg represented Maccabi Haifa's first taste of competitive football since the domestic season ended in May, so it was understandable to see Barak Bakhar's men a little rusty on their feet.
Having come so close yet so far in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 Israeli top-flight campaigns, Maccabi Haifa ended their agonising 10-year wait for the crown by finishing four points clear of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the season just gone, and there is plenty of optimism with Bakhar at the helm.
Under the 41-year-old's tutelage, the Israeli champions have lost just one of their last 16 matches in all competitions, and he is certainly a man who knows a thing or two about famous European nights, as his Hapoel Be'er Sheva side did the double over Inter Milan during the group stage of the 2016-17 Europa League.
Not since 2010 have the visitors managed to make it all the way to the Champions League group stages, but they do have recent experience in knocking Kairat out of European competition, having beaten them 2-1 in last season's Europa League qualifying period.
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Team News
Aside from long-term absentee Jacek Goralski - who is nursing a cruciate ligament rupture - Kairat are well-stocked for Wednesday's continental battle.
Keker made changes in abundance for his side's recent cup victory - all of which paid off - but the bulk of the players who featured in the first leg should return to the side here.
A significant reshuffle would see a recall for a familiar name in Vagner Love - who ended the triumphant league season with 13 goal contributions from 17 matches - while his fellow attacker Jose Kante also starred with eight goals and six assists in domestic action.
Maccabi midfielder Neta Lavi - donning the captain's armband on the day - lasted just 14 minutes of the first leg before coming off with a calf injury, and the 24-year-old joins knee strain victim Ofri Arad on the sidelines.
Former Real Madrid youngster Jose Rodriguez could therefore deputise in the middle of the park in Kazakhstan, but that should be that as far as any changes are concerned for the visiting side.
Kairat possible starting lineup:
Pokatilov; Hovhannisyan, Alip, Dugalic, Suyumbaev; Abiken, Polyakov, Kosovic; Kante, Love, Shushenachev
Maccabi Haifa possible starting lineup:
Cohen; Meir, Planic, Gershon, Menahem; Rodriguez, Mohamed, Abu Fani; Chery, Donyoh, Atzili
We say: Kairat 1-2 Maccabi Haifa
Kairat are on a four-game winning streak at home - during which time they have amassed a remarkable 15 goals - so they must not be written off as they seek to avoid a first defeat at the Central Stadium since the turn of the year.
However, Maccabi Haifa are only heading in one direction with Bakhar at the helm, and we expect the Israeli side's greater experience on the continental stage to shine through as they advance by the narrowest of margins.
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