So exactly who are Shakter Karagandy?

St. Pats play Shakter Karagandy tomorrow in the first leg of their Europa League second round qualifier. But who are the Kazakh side?

Shakter Karagandy hail from the Kazakh city of Karaganda in the province of Karagandy, which is located in the central steppe of Kazakhstan. Karagandy province alone is just under six times the size of the island of Ireland and was the location for many of Stalin's labour camps during the 1950s. Today the province is sparsely populated, with under half a million inhabitants.

The Shakter Stadium in Karaganda is home to Pats' opponents and has a capacity of 19,000. Shakter, nicknamed the Miners, were founded in 1958 but have never won a major trophy- their best league finishes being third. They have appeared in European competition three times, all in recent years, but had never won a match before this season. Last season they finished sixth in the Kazakhstan Premier League, only getting a spot in the Europa League qualifiers because Kazakh cup winners Lokomotiv Astana were disqualified (Shakter were runners up).

Given that they didn't qualify for Europe strictly on their own merits, I asked leading English-language Kazakh football writer Mark Wheatley, of the fantastic SF Union website, whether they were a side to be feared:

MW: Shakter are a different kettle of fish to last year. A whole host of new signings and a new manager have given them some fresh impetus this year. Up until last week they were locked in a title race and could still be. In a first versus second clash, Astana beat them 2-0 but they're still only 4 points behind the leaders. Last year's finish shows how summer leagues can sometimes give off red herrings, as this year's Shakter are much more competitive in my eyes. The new coach Kumykov has moulded his players together and they pulled off a real shock beating Koper in the last round. I don't know too much about St. Pat's to talk about them competing against them but if the manager can get his side playing well then there'll be a match for St.Pat's. They are a bit hot and cold though (I think down to the manager not being that great to be honest) and which Shakter side shows up might determine a lot.

NF: Who are the dangermen for Shakter?

The dangerman at the moment really is one man, Kizhnichenko. He was one of their new signings and has been red hot this year, scoring regularly. He is still young and has been through teething periods at his previous clubs but has really hit his stride this year. He has a clinical side which is really coming through as he is still only a teenager. His form is making up for the terrible form of another new signing, Raskovic, who has got just two goals so far this season. Kukueyv is always dangerous too as he makes late runs and often scores from midfield.

What kind of form are Shakter in?

Form-wise they are still reeling from their loss to Astana in that top of the table encounter. The loss came just after a very disappointing draw at home with Ordabassy (and I've seen Ordabassy live the week before and they were terrible!) They've had this weekend off however, and depending on what you think about form and whether time off is good or a run of games is better it might be a good thing or a bad thing for the Miners.

How likely are they to go all-out on the attack at home against Pats on Thursday?

As far as the coach goes he does have a good defence, but if its anything to go by, at half time in the second leg against Koper they went all out attack and got the goals they needed. Whether he lets his team sit back and be complacent like against Koper is a matter of debate but I think he'll try for goals in Kazakhstan and sit tight in Ireland. The local and national press bemoaned his stand-offish attitude in the Koper game.