Gomel – Arsenal Dzerzhinsk: Preview
We have the predictions for the encounter between Gomel and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk in the 28th round of the 2026 Belarusian league.
"Gomel" with 40 points sits in seventh place. "Arsenal" is 13 points behind, occupying 12th place.
Key points
Gomel
1. One point in four matches: has the year already ended?
Gomel’s first half of the season finished in fourth place, but the second half has been marked by instability under Andrey Gorovov: four wins and six losses in 12 matches, and elimination from the Belarusian Cup. In the last four games, Gomel earned only one point, in the away match against Dinamo-Brest (2:2), and then lost 1:2 to Minsk’s Dinamo, who are title contenders, and to Dnepr Mogilev, who are fighting for survival. The fourth place, with a potential spot in the Conference League, is already out of reach; Gomel can finish the season comfortably.
2. Gomel’s main motivation is the personal statistics of the young striker
Timofey Simaņenko is fighting for the league’s top scorer title alongside Brest’s striker Yegor Korskov. Four of his 13 goals come from the last seven matches, scoring in every second play. Another key forward, Denis Laptev, has missed the rest of the season due to a serious injury, which is the team’s only squad loss. Igor Zayats, who missed the match against Dnepr due to suspension, will return to the starting lineup, and the defender who replaced him, Viktor Sotnikov, will return to his usual support zone.
3. Arsenal is an uncomfortable rival for Gomel recently
Gomel first faced Arsenal in 2020, when they were a second‑division side. Since then, the Rysis have played nine direct encounters with the Canaries, winning only three, the last in July 2024. Since then, Gomel has scored only once in the four matches against Arsenal, resulting in two consecutive defeats followed by two consecutive draws.
Arsenal Dzerzhinsk
1. Arsenal started to collect points – and on time
After Igor Voronkov’s resignation, Arsenal under Igor Trukhov has already played eight matches, of which the first seven yielded only three points, and only last Friday did they achieve the first win of the second round. It was a historic match mainly for the rival: BATE fell into the relegation zone and risks not escaping, while Arsenal, with four points in two matches against direct competitors in the survival battle, almost secured the problems at the end of the season.
2. Arsenal’s captain will not play due to suspension
The next match will be affected by the absence of central defender Andrey Zaleski, the team’s captain and the only player who has started the last eight games. This fact shows Igor Trukhov’s creative search, who usually makes four to five changes in the starting lineup compared to the previous half. However, some substitutions are mandatory. For example, in the recent match against Dnepr, midfielder Nikolay Sotnikov suffered an injury, and to date it is Arsenal’s only medical loss.
3. Arsenal does not fare well away
One of the factors that positively influenced Arsenal was the recent move of Borisov to the renovated stadium in his hometown, Dzerzhinsk. Three of the last four matches were at home and played with full support from their fans. In these three games, the red‑whites conceded only one goal and scored only once. However, the away statistics remain discouraging: only two goals in the last six matches across all competitions, resulting in two draws in regulation time and four defeats. Notably, in summer, Arsenal already played in Gomel and struggled to beat Bumprom, a second‑division team, in the Belarusian Cup: after a 0:0 draw, the winner was decided in a penalty shootout.
Estimated lineups
4-2-3-1
3-4-2-4
Kleschuk 17
Martinkevich 90
Kukushkin 16
Zayats 43
Shaikhtdinov 19
Silinsky 33
Sotnikov 77
Lazarev 21
Kovalevich 23
Danilin 11
Simaņenko 30
Soroko 41
Lutik 46
Vasiliev 23
Poljakov 18
Volskij 11
Lovets 2
Bozhko 79
Badoev 13
Oreshkevich 33
Gorbachik 90
Antilevskiy
Betting on the trend
Gomel won by at least two goals in only one of the last nine matches. Arsenal lost by more than one goal in only one of the last five games.
F2 (+1.5) at 1.84
No more than two goals were scored in the last four direct encounters between Gomel and Arsenal.
TM (2.5) at 1.92.
Prediction
Gomel vs Arsenal Dzerzhinsk 06.11.2026 19:00
Gomel has definitively lost the chances to enter European competitions, with four points in the last six rounds, of which only one was earned in the last four games after the international break. Gomel scores in eight consecutive matches, but Timofey Simaņenko’s goals, at 19, are especially valuable as he competes for the league’s top scorer race.
Arsenal broke the streak of failures, with four points in key matches against direct competitors for the Premier League spot, almost securing escape from relegation. However, points are still needed, and the Dzerzhinsk side hardly scores away. Additionally, the team’s captain, Andrey Zaleski, will not play due to suspension, the most stable player in the central defender position.
The last direct encounters between Arsenal and Gomel were not fruitful in terms of goals. This time, the match result may be decided by a single goal. We expect the home side to score it.
Prediction: 1-0
