Belarus Premier League Matchday 17 Odds & Picks

• Matchday 17 in the Belarus Premier League with games starting this Friday
• With BATE struggling, just four points now separate the league’s top six
• We list the odds for all seven games and preview three, offering our best picks

As we approach Matchday 17 of the Belarus Premier League, things are getting ridiculously tight at the top. BATE’s shock home defeat by Energetyk – their second in two weeks – has thrown it wide open, with just four points now separating the top six.

We’ll list the whole schedule, show the odds, preview three games, and offer a pick for each.

Belarus Premier League Matchday 17 Odds

All odds taken July 9

Pick 1: Vitebsk vs Neman Grodno

Neman Grodno remain the league’s form team and their surge up the table has taken them to third – just a point behind joint-leaders Shakhtar and BATE. Neman have won six on the bounce and they look unstoppable right now. During that almost-perfect run, they have scored 10 goals and, remarkably, conceded just one.

Vitebsk too feature prominently in the latest form table and have lost just one of their last eight. Their problem, however, has been turning draws into wins and a record of 2-5-1 over that run shows a ‘nearly’ team – one that with a few tweaks could be in the mix for the European places. They have only lost four of their 16 matches but have won only five.

So, with the home team being the league’s draw specialists and with Neman due to drop points at some stage, the value here looks to be with the draw, possibly a 1-1.

Pick: Vitebsk and Neman to draw (+223)

Pick 2: Shakhtar Soligorsk vs Gorodeya

Shakhtar’s 4-1 win over Torpedo last weekend saw them go top after BATE’s surprise home defeat by Energetyk, and extended their unbeaten run to 11 games – seven wins and four draws. Along with Neman, they are another of the league’s in-form teams, but being leaders brings with it a different type of pressure. Their good run has been based on an outstanding defense and they’ve conceded just eight goals in their 16 league games.

They are particularly miserly at home and have had four clean sheets from their last five home games, all of which makes for a massive task for relegation-threatened Gorodeya. The visitors have picked up just a single win in their 11 away games – drawing four and losing six – with all of their defeats being by two or more goals. Added to the fact they’ve conceded at least twice in five of their last six games, this all adds up to a home win.

Even at -333, this one looks like easy money, and also worth considering is the 2-0 win.

Pick: Shakhtar to win (-333)

Pick 3: Energetyk-BGU vs Ruh Brest

Energetyk will still be on a high after last Saturday’s outstanding 1-0 win in Borisov over then-leaders BATE. The win was even more remarkable because they played with ten men for over 70 minutes after Aleksandr Svirepa saw red for two bookings. Their goal came on 20 minutes, so it was a fine defensive effort as, despite BATE having a lot of possession, they reduced the home team to just two shots on goal. It was a result that turned the title race on its head.

Ruh Brest have had a mixed season so far but come into this one off the back of a very encouraging win last weekend when they beat Dinamo Minsk 1-0. Worth noting too is that they’ve conceded only 13 goals in their 16 games and so are always in with a chance. Like Vitebsk, they’ve been guilty of drawing too many games and, partly for that very reason, the value here is with another draw.

Pick: Draw (+261)