Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Veltins Arena (Gelsenkirchen) will host Wednesday’s Champions League game between Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys, the two teams who are eyeing their first win of the process. The Miners aim to recover from a 1-0 loss to Arsenal and they will not have a better chance than this to return to winning ways in the elite competition. Goalkeeper Tymuy Puzankov remains in the recovery room, but the 21-year-old should be the only absentee in the home team.
The Yellow-Blacks, on the other hand, head into the match with a severely-weakened squad. As all Camara, Chaiwa, Conte, Janko, Pfeiffer, Seiler, and Zoukrou are going to miss Wednesday’s showdown, we are tempted to place our bets on Shakhtar Donetsk this time out. In their last meeting in the Champions League (2016), Young Boys defeated Shakhtar Donetsk, meaning that the Ukrainians are hungry for revenge.
Highlighted Team (Shakhtar Donetsk):
Despite the fact that they were founded back in 1936, Shakhtar Donetsk were struggling to win the Ukrainian Premier League trophy until 2002. The Miners have established themselves as the dominant force in Ukrainian football and it has to be noted that they won their ninth domestic trophy in 2014.
Shakhtar Donetsk were playing at Donbass Arena in the past, but due to war in Donbass the club temporarily moved to Arena Lviv. In 2009 the Miners won the UEFA Cup trophy under Romanian boss Mircea Lucescu, beating Werder Bremen in the title game. Croatian full back Dario Srna was named the man of the match. Dynamo Kiev are considered Shakhtar Donetsk’s main rivals and there have always been fireworks in meetings between the two sides.
Shakhtar have a rivalry with Metalurh Donetsk as well and the two local rivals face each other in the Donetsk Derby. Chelsea ace Willian, Manchester United star Mkhitaryan and Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho all played for Shakhtar in the past.