Feyenoord-Shakhtar Donetsk is a Europa League round of 16 return match to be played on Thursday at 18:45: TV, line-ups, predictions.
The result of the first leg was more of a lie than ever. It was a 1-1 draw in Warsaw, but Feyenoord deserved not only to win but also to win by a wide margin in light of the Dutch side’s total domination of the game and the numerous chances Arne Slot’s men managed to score.
And had it not been for Bullaude’s equaliser two minutes from the end, which brought the game back to a draw after Rakitskyi’s goal, the current Eredivisie leaders would even have gone home empty-handed. A real mockery, given that even a draw is tight for Kokçu and co. In the Netherlands we do not expect too different a script, with the only difference being that this time Feyenoord’s players could be more concrete and cynical in front of a rearguard that was pardoned several times last Thursday. For Shakhtar Donetsk, it will be another complicated evening, as in the return leg of the play-offs to reach the round of 16 at home to Rennes, with the Ukrainians kissed by Lady Luck several times and only able to win on penalties. Igor Jovicevic’s side, meanwhile, comfortably defeated lowly Kryvbas Kryvyi 3-0 at the weekend, a match in which the Croatian coach was able to give some of his starters some time off.
The first leg was Dutch dominance
Shakhtar remain firmly in the lead of the Ukrainian league, three points ahead of the chasing Dnipro-1.
Slot
It was not to be taken for granted to obtain these results in a season of transition: in fact, the Arancioneri started off again with an almost entirely overhauled squad after the end of De Zerbi’s management, which lasted only a few months due to the war events that were tearing the country apart. Nineteenth positive result in all competitions for Feyenoord, who beat Volendam 2-1 to keep the gap on Ajax unchanged. The Rotterdam club are living a magical moment and have the opportunity to overthrow the dictatorship of the Lancers and win the Dutch top league six years after the last time. Almost everyone is available for Slot, who will still have to do without starting goalkeeper Bijlow and the other injured Walemark and Timber. On the other side Jovicevic can again count on midfielder Shved and central defender Matvienko.
The prediction
The differences were clear in the first leg and only bad luck prevented a Feyenoord goleada. At home it will be a different story and that is why we expect a comfortable success for the Dutch in a match with at least two goals in total.
Feyenoord-Shakhtar Donetsk’s likely line-up
- FEYENOORD (4-2-3-1): Wellenreuther; Pedersen, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Kokcu; Jahanbakhsh, Szymanski, Idrissi; Danilo.
- SHAKHTAR DONETSK (4-1-4-1): Trubin; Taylor, Matvienko, Bondar, Topalov; Stepanenko; Zubkov, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Kryskiv; Traoré.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
