APOEL vs FC Astana Prediction & Betting Tips (19 December)

Accustomed to competing in the European Cup, APOEL made a good impression in this Conference League. The Nicosia-based team is guaranteed to take part in the play-offs and can even hope to reach the round of 16 directly since it is 10th in the standings with the same number of points as the 8th. However, the start of the campaign was sluggish with a draw at Shamrock Rovers 1-1 and a setback against Borac Banja Luka 0-1. On the other hand, APOEL Nicosia won their last 3 matches played against Fiorentina 2-1, Molde 0-1 and FC NOAH 1-3. On the national scene, however, the Cypriots do not meet expectations. They had 3 matches without success, 1 draw and 2 defeats before dominating Paralimni 2-0 on Sunday. Despite this result, the club remains 5th in the championship, 10 points behind the leader.

In difficulty, Astana is currently 28th in this Conference League and is 1 point behind 24th place, the last qualifying seat for the play-offs. The Kazakhs started the competition by taking over TSC 1-0. Unable to win since, they drew with Guimaraes 1-1 and otherwise lost to The New Saints 2-0, Pafos 1-0 and Chelsea last week 1-3. In the championship, Astana narrowly missed the title, finishing 2nd in the standings with 1 point behind 1st place. Its national exercise ended on November 10. Astana could therefore play their last match of the season this Thursday if they fail to qualify for the play-offs. 

APOEL Nicosia is deprived of the important striker Marquinhos (4 goals in the league) and the long-term missing midfielder Sarfo, injured. Furthermore, the holders Pizzi (ex-Benfica, 4 goals in the league) and Drazic are not qualified for this C4. Former Moroccan international El Arabi (5 goals in the league) could still be associated with ex-Niçois Donis, author of his second goal in the league in recent days. Bulgarian international midfielder Kostadinov scored against FC NOAH as did defender Chebake, who passed through Le Havre. Like the last Conference League match, the Astana coach should be able to count on his entire squad this THURSDAY.

Scorer against Chelsea, Croatian winger Tomasov (6 goals in the league) should be renewed.  This is also the case of the other winger Camara (4 goals in the league) and the Nigerian striker Geoffrey (7 goals in the league). Albanian midfielder Gripshi (6 goals in the league) can also be effective but he started on the bench on the last day.