Omonia Nicosia vs Kairat Almaty prediction 22.07.2026 | UEFA Champions League

Omonia head into the tie after an encouraging pre-season, remaining unbeaten across their recent friendlies while showing plenty of attacking promise. They have scored 12 goals across their last five matches, although defensive lapses have prevented them from keeping many clean sheets.

The Cypriot champions have also been formidable at home, winning five of their previous six matches at the GSP Stadium, where they tend to dominate possession and create numerous chances. Their European pedigree in recent seasons should also prove valuable against an experienced Kairat side.

Manager Henning Berg is expected to have the majority of his squad available, although defenders Sofiane Agouzoul (broken toe) and Fotis Kitsos remain injury doubts heading into the first leg. Any further late fitness decisions are likely to be made closer to kick-off.

Kairat travel to Cyprus in outstanding form. The Kazakh champions eliminated Sutjeska with back-to-back victories (2-1 at home and 2-0 away) to progress comfortably from the opening qualifying round. Overall, they have won seven consecutive competitive matches and six of their last seven games have featured over 2.5 goals.

The visitors are already well into their domestic campaign, giving them a potential fitness advantage over Omonia, who are only beginning their competitive season. Match sharpness could prove an important factor, particularly during the latter stages of the contest.

Kairat's attack has looked particularly dangerous in recent weeks, but away performances in European competition have occasionally been inconsistent over the last few seasons. Nevertheless, confidence within Rafael Urazbakhtin's squad will be high after their excellent start to the campaign.