Goal drought in Kazakhstan?

The Kazakh hosts have yet to score at home in this season’s Champions League, while Bruges have only scored once away from home and have yet to pick up any points.

However, the latter record can at least be put into perspective somewhat. The Flemish side have already faced various top clubs such as Bayern Munich and Sporting Lisbon. In contrast, the hosts have also hosted Real Madrid, a club of this caliber, but otherwise have failed to win against significantly weaker teams such as Olympiacos Piraeus and Champions League newcomers Paphos.

This is, of course, due to the fact that coach Rafael Urazbakhtin’s team is also competing in this competition for the first time and has a squad that is hardly designed for such a level. However, due to the weak offenses on both sides, the prediction for the match between Almaty and Bruges is now for a maximum of two goals in the game.

Almaty vs. Bruges prediction AI

AI has also taken a close look at the match at the Central Stadium in Almaty and found value in the odds for a victory for the visitors. Artificial intelligence estimates the probability of a win for the Flemish team at 68.2 percent.

This value tops the odds offered by Interwetten for an FCB win of 1.60 (as of 18.01.2026, 10:53), which corresponds to a probability of 62.5 percent. The Almaty vs. Bruges AI prediction therefore favors a Belgian victory.

Almaty – Statistics & current form

Along with Ajax, Kairat is one of only two teams that has not yet scored a goal in a home game in the 2025/26 season. However, the away record shows that the offense is not quite as bad as this tally suggests. In all three away games in this year’s Champions League, the Kazakhs scored at least once.

However, the five-time national champions are currently lacking competitive practice. The domestic Premier League has been on hiatus since the end of October last year, which is why Almaty has not played a competitive match since losing to Olympiacos in the Champions League a good six weeks ago.

Will Almaty lose by a narrow margin?

In light of this and their weak home performances, the odds for a win for the visitors also look promising for Almaty against Bruges. However, due to the Flemish team’s problems playing away from home and their recent form at the national level, which leaves room for improvement, we expect only a narrow victory with a maximum of one goal difference.

This is also supported by the fact that the hosts have at least been solid defensively in their recent home games in the Champions League. They kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw against Paphos, and their latest defeat against the team from Piraeus was only 0-1.

In addition, goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov can at least be considered to be of international caliber. Based on the expected goals value of shots fired at his goal (excluding own goals), he has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League this season. In his four appearances, Anarbekov conceded six goals with a combined expected goals value of 11.9 for Kairat’s opponents.

Almaty longs for a European home win

The problems in Almaty’s home games are not a new pattern; in fact, the Kazakh champions are still waiting for their first win in a major European competition, which should change in the Almaty vs. Bruges tip. Of the twelve games of this type, three ended in a draw and nine were lost. All of Halyq komandasy’s other 25 home wins in the Europa League and Champions League were achieved in qualifying games.

Bruges – Statistics & current form

The visitors from Flanders have had a disappointing start to the new year. In their first competitive game after the winter break, they suffered a cup defeat in Wallonia at Charleroi, which ended their run in the competition in the quarterfinals. In the domestic Jupiler League, they also suffered a defeat against La Louviere in their dress rehearsal for the match against Almaty.

Things have not been going well in the Champions League for some time either: Bruges have not won any of their last five games in Europe’s premier competition (0-1-4). If they fail to pick up three points again this time, the Flemish side will equal their longest such run in a European season, set in 2016/17 and 2019/20.

The visitors have also lost their last four away games in the Champions League. Once again, they are in danger of setting a new club record, as FCB have only lost five away games in a row in the Champions League once before, between November 2005 and October 2018.

Vanaken remains a reliable option

In attack, the visitors will rely primarily on their veteran Hans Vanaken. At 33, he is the oldest outfield player to have played for Bruges in the Champions League this season. Nevertheless, he leads the club’s internal statistics in several categories, such as chances created (14) and successful dribbles (8).

In addition, Portuguese player Carlos Forbs has been successful in this competition with two assists and goals so far. With this tally, he and Ferran Jutgla from the 2022/23 season have the most goal contributions in a season in the club’s Champions League history.

Bruges regularly wobbles in defense

One shortcoming in away games in the Champions League is the defense. In the three away games played in the current edition of the competition, FCB has conceded an average of three goals. Only BVB, Napoli, and Ajax have conceded more away goals in the league.

In light of this, the betting odds for both teams to score in the match between Almaty and Bruges are also worth considering. This is also supported by the fact that the hosts will certainly not want to end the competition without scoring at home, which is why we expect them to be particularly offensive this time.

A goal would also be particularly significant for them, as it would be the first home Champions League goal in their history. Furthermore, Bruges have not been convincing defensively recently: in the two competitive games since the turn of the year, FCB have conceded five goals.

Almaty – Bruges Head-to-head record

This is the first meeting between Almaty and Bruges. It is also the first time that two teams from Kazakhstan and Belgium have faced each other in a major European competition.

So far, there has only been one European meeting outside the qualifying rounds between teams from the two countries, with Tobol Kostanay facing Sint-Truidense VV. The two matches took place in the 2003 Intertoto Cup and ended with a combined score of 3-0 in favor of the Kazakhs. For the premiere between Almaty and Bruges, the bookmakers’ odds favor the visitors.

Almaty – Bruges Tip

The Kazakh Premier League champions are making their debut in the Champions League, but it will be a short one. As the bottom team in the 36-team Champions League, they have already been eliminated from the competition.

In what is likely to be their last home game in the Champions League for the time being, the hosts have nothing left to play for from a sporting perspective. Nevertheless, they will not give up on the match. After all, a win would bring in a hefty €2.1 million in prize money, and even a draw would still bring in €700,000. At least for the Kazakhs, who are not financially well off, these amounts are certainly an incentive.

However, the players from the city of two million have so far failed on their own turf. After three home games in the league phase, they have not scored a single goal and have only managed to secure one point against Paphos. With Bruges, they face another regular in the Champions League, who are not exactly setting the world alight at the moment.

This assessment applies particularly to the Belgians’ away games. There have been three of those this season, and FCB lost all of them, scoring only one goal in their first away game at Atalanta Bergamo. Against this backdrop, we expect a low-scoring match, which is why a maximum of two goals seems promising for the Almaty vs. Bruges prediction.