Red Star Belgrade v BATE Borisov Betting Tips: Serbians to come out on top in high-scoring encounter

This match sees two Eastern European teams, both highly successful in their respective nations, come together as Red Star Belgrade host BATE Borisov.

Red Star are looking to regain the title they lost last season to historic rivals Partizan and so far they are making a good fist of it with 19 points taken from seven matches: putting them top of the table. This European campaign has been a good one so far with this season being Red Star’s first Group Stage appearance in a European competition since 2007.

Unsurprisingly for a team top of their domestic league, Crvena Zvezda have been fantastic in both boxes so far this campaign with 18 goals scored and just one conceded in their seven league outings – both the best records in the division. Furthermore, they have found the back of the net in each of their last nine European outings.

In their final Europa League qualifying round this term, Vladan Milojevic’s men managed to defy the odds to beat Russian side FC Krasnodar over two legs. Much of this was down to the Serbian side’s home form which has now seen them go undefeated in their last 10 in all competitions at Stadion Rajko Mitic. They had, in fact, won nine on the bounce until their recent draw against their title, and city rivals, Partizan.

BATE Borisov are a classic example of being a giant at home but a minnow in Europe. They have won the Belarusian title for the last 11 seasons which means they are now just three consecutive titles behind Skonto Riga’s (Latvia) and Lincoln Red Imps’ (Gibraltar) joint-record of 14 consecutive European national league titles. Having said that, they currently sit third in the Belarusian Premier League, four points off top spot with nine games to go. This 2017/18 season is the first time that BATE have reached the Group Stage of a European competition since 2015.

Although they are third in the Belarusian top flight, Anatoli Kapski’s side have been superb at both ends of the field and their statistics of 36 Goals For and 11 Goals Against are the best and joint-best records in the division respectively. Additionally, they have kept two clean sheets in their last two outings. Unfortunately though, it is a different story in Europe with no clean sheet in their last nine matches. On the other hand, it is worth noting that they have found the back of the net in 75% of their last 12 games in both the Champions League and Europa League.

In terms of European away form, BATE certainly lose more games than they win. However, when you look at their record, you can see that they do tend to score against the weaker teams in the competition, even away from home. This is shown in their relatively recent matches against SJK, Videoton and even Red Star’s rivals, Partizan.

I think Red Star will have too much for BATE here but, as suggested above, I think the Belarusian side could get a goal in Belgrade. Red Star Belgrade to Win and Both Teams to Score is priced at 7/2.