Capital clash and more: what to know before Matchweek 6 of the Freedom QJ League W

Kairat vs Astana

Fans can look forward not only to a capital derby, but also a battle of league leaders – the team from the capital trails the yellow-blacks by just three points.

Astana’s only loss so far came two rounds ago against Irtysh. Despite a low xG (0.87), the Pavlodar side scored twice at home, while Bolat Sagynbayev’s team only responded with a late goal.

Astana quickly bounced back a week later, defeating Ordabasy 3–1. However, the upcoming away match against Kairat in Almaty might be the team’s toughest challenge of the first round – the Almaty side has scored 34 goals and conceded just two.

Shakhtyor vs Aktobe

The red-whites picked up their first win of the season in the last round, outgunning Zhetysu 6–4 in Taldykorgan.

Aktobe striker Aziza Talap delivered a standout performance – she finally netted her first goals in the League and did so in style with a hat-trick.

Shakhtyor, meanwhile, suffered a heavy 0–7 defeat to Kairat, failing to score for the first time this season.

This upcoming match will reveal whether the “Cinderella team” has recovered from that loss – and whether Sergey Polenov has found proper replacements for key players promoted to the senior squad.

Irtysh vs Zhetysu

Irtysh has struggled with attacking efficiency – despite scoring in both recent games, their xG figures remained low (0.87 and 0.47).

Zhetysu also faces xG issues, but they produced a spectacular performance last week – 15-year-old midfielder Nuray Bolatova was involved in all of her team’s goals, netting a hat-trick and providing an assist.

Just a week earlier, she had scored her first-ever goal in the League against Shakhtyor. Can she extend her scoring run in Pavlodar?

Ordabasy vs Tobol

Things aren’t going well for the Shymkent side – they’ve lost three in a row. However, each of those losses came against top teams.

Ordabasy did beat Irtysh on Matchweek 2 – a feat Tobol failed to repeat last week (1–1 draw).

Playing at home might help: the forecast predicts 30°C heat in Shymkent, which could give the southern team an advantage.