According to Sergey Kiryakov, a former forward for Moscow's Dinamo and German clubs, Kazakhstan's Kairat and Azerbaijan's Qarabag teams may not be able to advance to the Champions League playoff stage. This was reported by Euro-football.ru.
In the first round of the main tournament, Kairat lost 1-4 away to Lisbon's Sporting, while Qarabag unexpectedly defeated Benfica 3-2 on the road. According to the expert, Qarabag will now face more attention and serious opposition, which will make the Azerbaijani team's game more difficult.
Although Qarabag is stronger than Kairat, both clubs have a low chance of progressing to the playoff stage. In the second round, Qarabag will host Copenhagen on October 1, while Kairat will take the field against Madrid's Real one day earlier.
The Kazakhstan team has reached the main stage for the first time in its history. Their squad includes former Krasnodar and Rubin defenders Yegor Sorokin and Aleksandr Martynovich.
