Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord is a Europa League round of 16 first leg match played on Thursday at 21:00: Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord, Europa League: TV, predictions, line-ups
Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord is a Europa League round of 16 first leg match played on Thursday at 21:00: predictions.
In the play-off to reach the round of 16 against Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk did not get off to a favourable start, but in the double-header against the French side they showed that they are a team to be taken with a grain of salt, especially at continental level, if only because of their decades of experience in European cups.
Despite having been substantially dismembered over the past year following the distressing events in Ukraine – there is no longer a ‘colony’ of Brazilians, the team is forced to play in Poland and one of its jewels, Mudryk, left in the last transfer market – the team led by Croatian Igor Jovicevic finds itself in the round of 16 of the Europa League after having finished third in the Champions League group behind Real Madrid and Leipzig. In the championship, on the other hand – play resumed in Ukraine only a week ago after the long winter break – Shakhtar took back the top of the standings, catching up with Dnipro-1, the only team that seems capable of contending for yet another title. The orange-reds won the first two matches against Minaj and Metalist, scoring eleven goals in total, and also showing some athletic freshness. They needed a bit of luck to eliminate the hostile Rennes, who in France, after coming back from a 2-1 defeat in Warsaw, surrendered on penalties.
Feyenoord aim to raise the bar
His next opponent will be Feyenoord, currently first in the Eredivisie standings with a three-point lead over Ajax. The Dutch won their Europa League group in the autumn despite having the same points as the other three teams, including Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio, thanks to a better goal difference.
Pedersen
At home, Arne Slot’s men are on the back of five consecutive victories between league and national cup. And more generally, they have only lost three of their 33 official matches since the season began. It is an important path for a team that aims to raise the bar after being one step away from lifting a European cup again last year, when Feyenoord were defeated by Mourinho’s Roma in the Conference League final in Tirana. Slot will have some problems in midfield in the Warsaw match: in addition to starting goalkeeper Bijlow, Timber and Walemark will also be missing.
The prediction
The bookmakers are rightly leaning towards the Dutch as favourites to qualify for the quarter-finals. But Shakhtar Donetsk, despite the forced downsizing due to the war events, cannot be taken lightly and the double-header against Rennes proved it. The first leg in Warsaw could therefore turn out to be more balanced than expected, with both teams likely to find the path to goal.
The Shakhtar Donetsk-Feyenoord matchday squad
- SHAKHTAR DONETSK (4-3-3): Trubin; Konoplya, Bondar, Rakitskiy, Mykhaylichenko; Bondarenko, Stepanenko, Djurasek; Zubkov, Sudakov; Traoré.
- FEYENOORD (4-2-3-1): Wellenreuther; Pedersen, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Kokcu; Jahanbakhsh, Dilrosun, Idrissi; Gimenez.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
In the play-off to reach the round of 16 against Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk did not get off to a favourable start, but in the double-header against the French side they showed that they are a team to be taken with a grain of salt, especially at continental level, if only because of their decades of experience in European cups.
Despite having been substantially dismembered over the past year following the distressing events in Ukraine – there is no longer a ‘colony’ of Brazilians, the team is forced to play in Poland and one of its jewels, Mudryk, left in the last transfer market – the team led by Croatian Igor Jovicevic finds itself in the round of 16 of the Europa League after having finished third in the Champions League group behind Real Madrid and Leipzig. In the championship, on the other hand – play resumed in Ukraine only a week ago after the long winter break – Shakhtar took back the top of the standings, catching up with Dnipro-1, the only team that seems capable of contending for yet another title. The orange-reds won the first two matches against Minaj and Metalist, scoring eleven goals in total, and also showing some athletic freshness. They needed a bit of luck to eliminate the hostile Rennes, who in France, after coming back from a 2-1 defeat in Warsaw, surrendered on penalties.
Feyenoord aim to raise the bar
His next opponent will be Feyenoord, currently first in the Eredivisie standings with a three-point lead over Ajax. The Dutch won their Europa League group in the autumn despite having the same points as the other three teams, including Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio, thanks to a better goal difference.
Pedersen
At home, Arne Slot’s men are on the back of five consecutive victories between league and national cup. And more generally, they have only lost three of their 33 official matches since the season began. It is an important path for a team that aims to raise the bar after being one step away from lifting a European cup again last year, when Feyenoord were defeated by Mourinho’s Roma in the Conference League final in Tirana. Slot will have some problems in midfield in the Warsaw match: in addition to starting goalkeeper Bijlow, Timber and Walemark will also be missing.
The prediction
The bookmakers are rightly leaning towards the Dutch as favourites to qualify for the quarter-finals. But Shakhtar Donetsk, despite the forced downsizing due to the war events, cannot be taken lightly and the double-header against Rennes proved it. The first leg in Warsaw could therefore turn out to be more balanced than expected, with both teams likely to find the path to goal.
The Shakhtar Donetsk-Feyenoord matchday squad
- SHAKHTAR DONETSK (4-3-3): Trubin; Konoplya, Bondar, Rakitskiy, Mykhaylichenko; Bondarenko, Stepanenko, Djurasek; Zubkov, Sudakov; Traoré.
- FEYENOORD (4-2-3-1): Wellenreuther; Pedersen, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Kokcu; Jahanbakhsh, Dilrosun, Idrissi; Gimenez.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
