Parting ways with Skripchenko did not help Dinamo Minsk quickly return to the top-2 of the championship. The away match against Vitebsk will be largely decisive for the reigning champion; fortunately for them, the Northerners are on a losing streak.

After a strong start to the second half of the Premier League with a 5-1 victory over BATE, Vitebsk sharply lost form. The Blues suffered five consecutive defeats, only conceding fewer than two goals in their last match against Gomel (0-1). At home, the Northerners have no wins since mid-June — they drew with Neman (0-0) and lost to Minsk (1-2) and Molodechno (0-1).

It seemed that exiting the Conference League qualifiers would help Dinamo concentrate all their efforts on the championship. Since August 10, the White-Blues secured three consecutive victories in the Cup and the Premier League, but then dropped points away to BATE (2-2) and Minsk (1-2). Against ‘the Citizens,’ Pavlov’s staff conducted disciplinary talks with Malashevich — the winger was even substituted back out during the second half. Chances for European qualification still exist: based on dropped points, Dinamo Minsk even surpasses Slavia for second place.

In the first round of the current campaign, Vitebsk failed to cope with Dinamo (1-2). The Northerners’ current form is extremely weak — Dinamo Minsk will take advantage of this, so I will back their victory.