Sport24.az
"Return matches are always aggressive. It's interesting to see how Turan Tovuz will make a comeback, what surprise they have prepared, given that Zira is ahead by 2 goals." These words were said to Sport24.az by former Azerbaijani national team player Tarlan Ahmadov.
The experienced specialist shared his expectations regarding today's return match of the Azerbaijan Cup semi-final stage – "Zira" vs. "Turan Tovuz":
"The thing is, Zira prefers to play more closed football and only switches to attacking football when they are behind in the score. Tovuz residents mainly rely on standard situations and long balls. In Gurban Berdyev's game philosophy, ball control does not play a key role. The team tries to quickly move the ball away from their own half and achieve a result thanks to the players in attack. In recent matches, they played with two forwards to win and won thanks to this. Turan Tovuz has quality players in the squad. The team prefers to play more for the result. I don't believe Zira will play open football. In the last championship match against Neftchi, gaps in defense were noticeable. Creativity is also not at a high level, and the result is mainly achieved due to the individual skill of several players. In any case, psychologically, the Tovuz club is under pressure. An interesting game is expected. Frankly, I don't believe Zira will concede 2-3 goals. They have the opportunity to play on counterattacks."
It should be noted that the first match between the parties ended with a 2:0 victory for Zira.
