Break’s Over: Matchweek VII Preview of the Freedom QJ League

Shakhtyor vs Irtysh: A Clash of Top Teams

The highlight of the round will undoubtedly be the matchup between the second- and third-placed teams in the standings, taking place in Karagandy. Shakhtyor has only lost to Kairat so far but dropped points earlier in the season against Zhas Kyran and Atyrau. Pavlodar’s side, meanwhile, suffered a painful home result in Matchweek 6 – Astana snatched the win in stoppage time of the second half.

Another intriguing aspect will be the duel between Ruslan Rakhmetov and Gleb Makridov. Both midfielders have 4 goals and 2 assists after six matchweeks. However, Irtysh’s Makridov missed one match after being called up to the senior team.

Ordabasy vs Kairat: A Test for the Leaders

So far, the Almaty side hasn’t faced any serious challenges this season. They’ve won all six of their previous matches, with only one of those victories coming by a margin of less than three goals.

Ordabasy, on the other hand, is known for their resilience: three draws, two wins, and just one narrow 0–1 loss to Taraz. Currently, the Shymkent team ranks fifth from the bottom in scoring (10 goals), but impressively holds fourth place in defensive reliability (only 9 goals conceded). What will the match in Shymkent bring? We’ll find out this Saturday.

Zhas Kyran vs Taraz: Can the Almaty Side Keep Their Loss Column Clean?

Alongside Kairat, Zhas Kyran is one of just two teams that went into the June break unbeaten.

Now the Almaty team will host Taraz. After defeating Caspiy at the start of the season, the southerners dropped points in four consecutive matches, but bounced back in the final spring round by handing Ordabasy their first loss. Can Askar Kushikbayev’s side repeat that success against another strong opponent?

Atyrau vs Aktobe: The Western Derby

The clash between these two western teams promises to be an exciting one. Despite having lost four matches, Aktobe delivered a resounding 6-0 win over Tobol – still the Kostanay team’s heaviest defeat to date. They also managed to draw 1-1 with Astana, and in their three other losses – to Shakhtyor, Ordabasy, and Zhas Kyran – they were only narrowly beaten by a single goal.

Atyrau, on the other hand, is unbeaten in their last five matches, though three of those results were hard-fought draws. All signs point to a potentially high-scoring encounter.

Astana vs Kaisar: An Unpredictable Match

At first glance, the recent scorelines suggest that the capital’s team has overcome a rough patch – last year’s U-17 silver medalists have won their last two matches. However, it’s worth noting that one of those wins came against bottom-placed Caspiy, while the other – against Irtysh – was secured by a last-minute stoppage-time goal.

That’s why, despite Kaisar having earned just 4 points out of a possible 18, anything can happen in the upcoming match.

Tobol vs Caspiy: Even Chances?

In the only match on Sunday, Tobol will host visitors from Aktau. Caspiy went into the June break with six losses from six matches. But Tobol hasn't fared much better either – with two draws, four defeats, and still no wins to their name.

The goal difference between the two sides is nearly identical: –16 for the hosts and –17 for the visitors, with both teams having conceded 21 goals. That makes the outcome of the upcoming match very hard to predict.