An opponent that is deep into their domestic league season, the shock they encountered during the season, the defensive style of play, the stadium and the pitch Maccabi will play on as they fight for a Conference League group stage berth
Having advanced past two qualifying rounds, Maccabi Tel Aviv reached the Conference League Playoffs. Sahakhter Karagandy separates between Maccabi and another appearance in a European group phase, so shortly before the two legged tie kicks-off it is time to get to know our opponents from Kazakhstan.
Knocked out Steaua Bucharest and are well into their domestic season
Shakhter reached the Conference League qualification campaign after finishing fourth in the Kazakhstan top flight that was played last season over 20 matches only. This is Shakhter’s first appearance in European competition since the 2014/15 season, as the Karagandy side reached the Playoffs in dramatic fashion. The Karagandy outfit needed two sets of penalty shoot-outs against Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the 2nd round and sudden death spot-kicks against Ukraine’s Kolos in the 3rd round, to reach this stage.
Karagandy’s name might be familiar to football fans from their first and only appearance in the Europa League during the 2013/14 season. During that season they faced Maccabi Haifa and were held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Kazakhstan before losing the corresponding fixture 2-1 in Israel.
As opposed to Maccabi’s previous European opponents this season, Shakhter line-up against Maccabi after playing 19 league matches as they are currently ranked 11th in the Kazakhstan table.
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A return to the artificial pitch
Shakhter had a poor start to their domestic season which began in March and included 4 defeats in the opening five league rounds which led to them parting company with coach Ali Aliyev. He was replaced by Magomed Adiyev, who also experienced an indifferent start but recently managed to steady the ship as Karagandy reaches the tie against Maccabi on the back of 4 victories and 2 draws from their last six matches in all competitions.
Despite the fact Shakhter comes from the city of Karagandy, they host their European matches at the Astana Arena in the capital city of Nur Sultan. Maccabi played against Astana at that stadium during the 2017/18 Europa League group stages as the artificial pitch will give Patrick van Leeuwen’s players a different than usual playing surface.
Three central defenders formation
Tactically, Karagandy tends to field a formation that changes between 4-5-1, 5-3-2 and 3-4-2-1. Shakhter scored 14 goals in 19 league matches so far while the two matches against Kolos in the previous round ended both in 0-0 draws before both teams were sent to the penalty spot.
Karagandy’s squad doesn’t lack experience as it consists of several players over the age of 30. Besides many Kazakhstani and Russian players, Karagandy has no less than 10 foreigners in the squad including Serbian midfielder duo Stefan Bukorac and Vuk Mitosevic. Karagandy top scorers this season are Arsen Khubolov and Aydos Tattybaev with two league goals each, so as far as goals Karagandy doesn’t score too much.
Regardless, Tattybaev scored 8 goals in the Kazakhstan Cup that took place over the past month, during which Karagandy met opponents from the top flight twice and another from the second division. Their record in those matches was much better as they scored 17 goals in 5 matches.
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