- Dinamo Tirana are unbeaten in four home games across all competitions (W2, D2).
- FC Astana have been less than convincing away from home across all competitions (D2, L3 from five).
- Dinamo Tirana have been more inconsistent lately with two wins, four draws and four defeats in their last ten.
Dinamo’s form is patchy
Dinamo Tirana have been in mediocre form lately. The Albanian champions are on a three-game losing streak coming into this game, but that's probably not a major concern for Ilir Daja, who has led them to two wins and two draws in their previous four home fixtures across all competitions. They are coming off a 2-1 defeat to KF Partizani Tirana, a 3-0 defeat to Af Elbasani and a 2-0 loss to KF Egnatia.
Astana have been solid recently
FC Astana have a recent record with two wins, two draws and one defeat from their last five, but that puts them in a slightly better place coming into this match.
The difference between these two teams is the structure and purpose of the approach and that will probably be reflected in a classic direct vs possession clash on Thursday.
Astana like to have the ball, control the tempo and attack the half-spaces through a structured possession game, which has been refined since Grigori Babayan took charge of the team on 13 September 2022.
An away win looks possible, but it will be close
The draw at 5/2 looks tempting given Astana's recent road record, but I will play the market on this one and swerve the 19/20 available on the away side in favour of Dinamo, who are 13/5.
It may just be the superior overall form of the Kazakhs across all competitions (W5, D2, L3) and the fact that they have a little more to get at the home side than the other way around.
A low-scoring away win should be within the visitors' grasp as they have scored only three goals away from home in their 2026 season, averaging just 0.60 goals per game.
Malomo Taofeeq Ayodeji has been Dinamo's sharpest blade recently with two goals in their last five, while Marin Tomasov has been Astana's best outlet with 2/5 of their total goals over the same period.
