shakhtar donetsk

This has the makings of a good match up between two sides who have potential, but have yet to really live up to expectation. For all of their early pace setting in Serie A this season, Roma really failed to impress too much in the Group Stage of the competition this year. Roma, in a group along with Bayern Munich, were expected to qualify, but with two defeats along the way, made the going tougher for themselves than perhaps it should have been. Their form has not been too hot of late in the Italian domestic league, failing to pick up a win in three matches now, which has seen them drop down to seventh. Before that, they had won four out five in the league. So, as mentioned, there is potential there for them to be stronger than they have shown right now, and with the home advantage here, you would expect them to be the ones to take initiative. It wasn’t until the final three group matches that Roma actually came to life in the tournament, going on a three match unbeaten streak. This is what is called momentum, but unfortunately, there has been a long gap between the last match and this one. It is going to be no easy match on Wednesday against the Ukrainians Shakhtar, who have reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history.

Shakhtar Donetsk won their group at the expense of England’s Arsenal, losing only one match in their six, and that was a 5-1 drubbing at the Emirates. That result aside, the Ukrainians actually played some pretty solid football, and battled well to pick up a crucial victory against Arsenal at the Donbass Arena. That was the big result which put them in with a chance of claiming top spot in the group, and with five wins out of five, the Ukrainians looked pretty sharp. Their defence wasn’t the strongest, but the seemed to grow in confidence as the group stage wore on, and didn’t look afraid of any of their group opponents. This is an unknown stage for them now, but they will be fancying their chances of picking up something from this. They go into this tie as the seeded team, meaning that they get home advantage in the second leg of the tie, so if they can keep things tight in Rome, then they will be in with a very good chance back at home. The two sides have met before in the Champions League, back in the 2006/07 season, when both sides won their respective games at home in the group stage. Shakhtar don’t have a great record against Italian opponents in Europe, and have won just once in ten matches against Italian opposition. The Ukraine coach has coached teams through ten away matches in Italy, he has yet to win one, drawing five and losing five.

You would think that a draw would be a fantastic result for the Ukrainians in Rome, and it could just be worth covering them with a draw in your Champions League football betting. Roma don’t have one of the greatest defences around at the moment, and their +3 goal difference on their domestic season, and -1 difference in the Champions League group stage, suggests than any victory which comes their way is going to be a narrow one. They could have a tough battle on their hands here, and wouldn’t be surprised to see this one play out as a draw. Shakhtar could be the surprise package of this first knockout stage, it’s not beyond their realms to sneak this one against the Italians.

Roma to win: Evens at Bet365
Draw: 27/11 at Bwin
Shakhtar Donetsk to win: 3/1 at Totesport

Roma are 66/1 at Victor Chandler to win the Champions League
Shakhtar Donetsk are  80/1 at Totesport to win the Champions League

Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League Betting Odds

Arsenal to win: 3/4 at Unibet
Draw: 14/5 at Bwin
Shakhtar Donetsk to win: 9/2 at SkyBet

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Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Betting and Match Preview:

Group H’s top two sides go head to head in North London, and a win for either team would give them huge bragging rights in the race to finish top of the league. Both sides have won their opening two matches, with both sides beating Partizan and Braga in their respective opening matches. The group was always likely to come down to Arsenal and Shakhtar, and now the Emirates will host the big match of the group so far. The two sides have met before in the Champions League, back in 2000/01 when the teams won their home matches in the group stage. Arsenal had to stage a comeback from 2-0 down at home, but then Shakhtar romped to a 3-0 win back in the Ukraine. Arsenal are favourites, as seen in the betting, and both sides are capable of scoring goals. So where does this leave your Champions League betting for this one? Arsenal should be the more prolific in terms of creating chances, and they are the type of side who will stretch their legs if they get out to solid early leads. Arsene Wenger still has injury problems to deal with, but you still have to look for an Arsenal win at home. It is hard to see a team coming to the Emirates and outscoring them. Arsenal always seem to raise their game if they do happen to fall behind. They should win the battle of the Group H pacesetters, and comfortably put one foot in the door of the knockout stages. They will have to show some patience in breaking down a stubborn Shakhtar side, and there should not be too big a margin between the two clubs. A one goal winning margin for Arsenal is 11/4 at Bet365, and looks decent value.

Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Betting Tip: Shakhtar +0.75 for Evens at Bet365

Arsenal Betting:

Arsenal were group favourites after the draw was made for the Champions League, and no reason to suggest otherwise. They have made relatively light work of the opposition so far, but this will be their toughest match so far without question. Arsenal have a decent record against Ukrainian teams if you are planning your football betting strategy. The Gunners have won two and picked up one draw in home matches against Dynamo Kiev, the only other Ukrainian team they have encountered before. Arsenal are a strong team at home in the Premier League and the Champions League group stage. They won five of six home matches in the Champions League last season (the other being a draw against Barcelona in the knockout stages), so the Gunners are well worth backing at home in the competition. So strong is the Arsenal record at the Emirates, that in 25 matches, Arsenal have only been beaten once, and that is a prime indicator of where your Champions League football betting needs to go.  Arsenal always look as if they have plenty of goals in them, and they are well worth backing for a win. You are never 100% sure which Arsenal will show up though in these types of matches. This is a match which they should win, but they do have a bit of a habit of getting drawn into closer games than they ever should. This will partly be down to a lack of world class goalkeeping abilities at the club, but pound for pound you do have to say that the Arsenal defence is stronger than it was last year. Arsenal like to entertain, and they win against Birmingham at the weekend, a match from which they have to come from behind in, will give them a lot of confidence. When Arsenal stick to the things they like doing best, they are almost untouchable. Their nine goals in two matches are a clear indicator of that, but there will have to be just an air of caution about being caught out at the back. Arsenal are still not at their strongest because of injury, but even so, they do make a pretty solid bet at the Emirates. Look for Marouane Chamakh Evens at Totesport, or Andrei Arshavin 13/8 at Boylesports as Anytime Goalscorers.

Shakhtar Donetsk Betting:

Shakhtar haven’t enjoyed too much from their rare travels to England. They tied 1-1 at White Hart Lane in 2008/09 in the Europa League, and lost at Fulham last year in the competition. Add to that, the previous defeat by Arsenal, things aren’t looking up for the visitors. But, you may remember the huge shock that Shakhtar caused in the Champions League last year, when they beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the group stages. That wasn’t enough to save the Ukrainian side though, as they finished third in the group. That represented just one of the two wins that they picked up last season in the Champions League group stage. But fortunes are looking up in terms of being a competitive side, and the more they encounter the top sides, the stronger they will get. They did look a strong and dangerous side in the Champions League for periods last season, however the long term consistency didn’t look as if it was there. That should play into Arsenal’s hands, but the Ukrainians can be hopeful of goals. Arsenal do concede goals, highlighted by the ten they have let in, in the Premier League this season. Donetsk have hit four goals in two group matches this year, and should more than make up the numbers at the Emirates. They are a solid team with a good work ethic, and striker Eduardo, who spent three years with Arsenal, will be keen to be re-united with the club, and of course get on the score sheet. Would look for him in the Anytime Goalscorer prices at 2/1 with Victor Chandler, as things like that happen more often than you think. The Ukrainians go as underdogs, but with all honesty, seeing them shut up shop and battle for a draw is not out of the question. They would be happy to take that advantage back to the Ukraine for the reverse fixture.

Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Football Betting Prediction: Home win

After Tuesday night’s Group E matches, it was confirmed that Liverpool’s participation in the Champions League this season would be over (well, after their match against Fiorentina in early December). The Reds will instead join the seven other third-placed teams in the newly-rebranded Europa League, entering the competition at the last-32 knockout stage. They won’t be the only so-called ‘big club’ failing to make the business end of Europe’s premier competition, with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich also facing the prospect of playing Fulham instead of Chelsea next year.

Bet365 have been quick to install Liverpool as 6/1 favourites to win this season’s Europa League and, considering that the Reds have regularly featured at the business end of the Champions League in recent seasons, many people will be backing the Reds for European glory of a different kind. However, it’s worth noting that the UEFA Cup semi-finals of the past five seasons have been populated more by teams who have been in the tournament from the start, rather than those who have dropped down.

The 2008/9 season was an exception to this rule, with UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar, Werder Bremen and Dynamo Kiev having played in the Champions League (Hamburg were the other team in the final four). However, the previous four seasons has seen 75% of semi-finalists originally entering Europe’s secondary cup competition at the preliminary or the group stages. During 2007/8, Zenit, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina were the originals, while the same could be said of Spanish trio of Sevilla, Espanyol and Osasuna in 2006/7.

Middlesbrough, Sevilla and Steaua Bucharest all made the semi-finals of the 2005/6 competition having not originally played in the Champions League, while AZ Alkmaar, Sporting and Parma were the originals of 2004/5. The point with all of these examples is that the bookmakers tend to overrate ‘Champions League teams’ when it comes to pricing up the Europa League. There is a reason why Liverpool, Bayern et al finished third in their group – namely that they weren’t good enough!

In addition, Liverpool could easily find themselves preoccupied with finishing fourth in the Premier League, rather than win a competition where there is only a limited amount of glory. While there is a gap in quality between the Champions League and the Europa League, teams like Shakhtar, Werder, Benfica and Valencia are more likely to comprise the semi-finals of the competition than Liverpool, Inter and Bayern Munich. Three of the last four champions have been teams who have previously earned the right to be featuring in this tournament and are therefore more likely to treat it with respect at the later stages.