Will the Finns maintain their lead?

Kairat Almaty has already won the UEFA Champions League twice. In May 2025, the Kazakhs were also in the final of Europe’s most coveted trophy, but lost to Palma de Mallorca. By now, it should be clear that we are not talking about classic 11-a-side soccer on the green turf, but futsal. In the Almaty vs. KuPS tip, however, Wettbasis is now focusing on the second qualifying round for the Champions League and the return leg between the national champions from Kazakhstan and Finland.

Last week, the team from the Finnish winter sports stronghold of Kuopio won 2-0 at home, putting themselves in a good position for the upcoming second leg. For the first time ever, the yellow and blacks have the chance to advance to the third qualifying round, where Slovan Bratislava would most likely be their next opponent. However, it is still far from certain that the Northern Europeans will progress, as the Kazakhs are definitely not to be underestimated in terms of quality. Added to this is the home advantage on Tuesday evening.

Almaty – Statistics & current form

This is only the third time that Kairat Almaty has qualified for the UEFA Champions League. The Kazakhs have never made it past the second round. Ahead of Tuesday evening’s second leg at their home stadium, the Yellow-Blues once again have their backs against the wall. After the aforementioned 0-2 defeat in Finland, Almaty are offered odds of up to 2.75 at Winamax to advance against KuPS.

Kairat Almaty has plenty of individual quality

Despite the less than favorable starting position ahead of the upcoming home game, a comeback by coach Rafael Urazbakhtin’s team seems entirely possible. This is supported, for example, by the fact that Kairat already caused a major upset in the first qualifying round. They eliminated Olimpija Ljubljana, a team that reached the intermediate round of the Conference League in 2024/25. A 1-1 draw in the Slovenian capital was followed by an unexpected 2-0 home win, which gave them a lot of confidence.

Another positive factor is that the Yellow-Blues are once again having a good league season, currently leading the table on equal points with Astana and, above all, proving difficult to beat at home. In seven home games, they have recorded five wins, one draw, and only one defeat. The fact that they have conceded only four goals is also a top statistic in the national comparison. The dress rehearsal for the Champions League second leg ended at the weekend with an important 3-1 away win at second-placed Tobyl Kostanay – a team that had previously not lost any of its eight home games…

On the one hand, this shows that the team from Kazakhstan’s largest city is in good form. On the other hand, the squad is also impressive. First and foremost, the southern-influenced offense led by Brazilian Ricardinho and Portuguese Jorginho is always good for goals. The same goes for 16-year-old top talent Dastan Satpaev, who already has 14 points in the league and signed a pre-contract with club world champions Chelsea for the summer of 2026. Are there enough reasons for a home win? Then maybe try an Almaty vs. KuPS prediction of a 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 home win, which is available at Winamax with odds of 2.70.

Predicted line-up for Almaty:
Zarutskiy – Mata, Sorokin, Martynovich, Mrynskiy – Kasabulat, Glazer, Tapalov – Jorginho, Satpaev, Ricardinho

KuPS – Statistics & current form

Qualifying matches in the UEFA Champions League are still a special experience for Kuopion PS. While the Conference League has been the yellow and black team’s primary international sporting home in recent years, thanks to winning the championship last season, the dream of securing a place in the main draw of Europe’s premier club competition is alive again for the first time since 2021. Back then, Molde proved to be too big a hurdle to overcome in the first round.

This time, the Finns made it through the first qualifying round unscathed, even though the two matches against FC Milsami from Moldova were a footballing disappointment. A single goal in 180 minutes was enough to justify their status as favorites. However, the Scandinavians did not exactly cover themselves in glory. In the first leg against Kairat Almaty last week, the yellow and blacks were far from playing like stars, but they were extremely efficient in attack and solid in defense.

Will a focused defensive performance be enough for KuPs again?

In general, defense is the forte of coach Jarkko Wiss, who has been at the helm in Kuopio since the beginning of the year. The team has not conceded a goal in any of its three European Cup matches. For Tuesday evening’s return leg, the Finns’ top priority will once again be to stand firm at the back, defend passionately, and deny the home side any rhythm. If they succeed, it makes sense to put the odds on under goals between Almaty and KuPs on your betting slip. For a combined bet on a maximum of one goal in the first half and a maximum of two goals in the second half, the Oddset app offers lucrative odds of 1.78. With the Oddset bonus, you can also significantly reduce your own risk.

Finally, it should be noted that the reigning national champions are currently lagging behind in the Finnish top flight. They have won only nine of their 17 league matches so far. In third place, they are six points behind the leaders. In particular, the offense is nowhere near as productive as their rivals from Turku and Tampere. In addition, they have only picked up ten points from eight away games and the Wiss team last won a competitive away game in mid-May (excluding cup competitions), so I am ultimately leaning towards the home team.

Predicted line-up for KuPS:
Kreidl – Hämäläinen, Miettinen, Cisse, Savolainen – Arifi, Oksanen, Ruoppi – Pennanen, Toure, Luyeye-Lutumba

Almaty – KuPS Head-to-head record / H2H record

The first leg a week ago was the first meeting between these two teams. Although Kuopion PS ultimately prevailed 2-0, Kairat Almaty was at least equal, and even slightly superior in terms of appearance. However, two goals in the second half from Toure and Oksanen secured the aforementioned home win, which definitely does not mean that the tie is over yet. The Kazakhs are also capable of winning the return leg on Tuesday evening by at least two goals.

Almaty – KuPS Tip

Who can continue to dream of the UEFA Champions League group stage? Finnish champions Kuopion PS or Kazakh title holders Kairat Almaty? The answer to this question will be revealed on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. Central European Summer Time (8 p.m. local time) at the Central Stadium in Almaty. On paper, the Finns naturally have the better cards for advancing to the third round thanks to their 2-0 win in the first leg, but the home side already defeated Olimpija Ljubljana 2-0 at home in the first qualifying round. In addition, the yellow-and-blues are also in really good shape in the league.

To make matters worse for the visitors, they have not won away since mid-May and find it extremely difficult to score goals in foreign stadiums. I therefore think it is not unrealistic that the second leg will be really exciting and dramatic. In my opinion, the Almaty vs. KuPs tip on 1X & Under 3.5 offers a good compromise between risk and reward. The top odds are 1.61 and I am betting five units on this.