Champions League: Real Madrid and Shakhtar Battle for Top Spot

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Top spot in Champions League Group F will be on the line as leaders Real Madrid host second-placed Shakhtar Donetsk at the Santiago Bernabeu this midweek.

Real’s perfect start to the season finally came to an end after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna over the weekend.

Los Blancos will no doubt be keen to bounce back and maintain their 100 per cent record in the Champions League.

However, Shakhtar have had their share of success against the Spanish giants, and they will be confident they can defy the Champions League 2022 betting odds once again.

Talking Points

Real Madrid’s perfect start finally snapped

Real Madrid are perfect no more. Their amazing winning run to start the season finally ended at nine games in all competitions as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Osasuna over the weekend.

Real had taken the lead through Vinicius Jr three minutes before half-time, but Osasuna equalised five minutes after the break.

Karim Benzema, who made his return from injury, was not quite at his best. While he hit the woodwork twice, the second of which was from a penalty 11 minutes from time that could have given Real the win.

Osasuna played the last stretch of the match down to 10 men, but even with a man advantage, Real could not get the winning goal.

Real were without both goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and veteran midfielder Luka Modric against Osasuna due to injury and will likely miss out again against Shakhtar. Young Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin got the start in Courtois’ stead, and he will likely make his Champions League debut against the Ukrainian champions.

Meanwhile, French youngsters Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga will likely get the start in midfield like they did in their 2-0 win against RB Leipzig in the last Champions League matchday.

Real needed late goals from Fede Valverde and Marco Asensio to beat Leipzig as their attack lacked a bit of cutting edge without Benzema.

Shakhtar off to a strong start

Shakhtar Donetsk have not made it past the group stage of the Champions League in each of the last four seasons, but they find themselves in a decent spot this year with four points from their first two games.

They pulled off one of the most surprising Champions League 2022 results to date with their 4-1 win away to RB Leipzig in their group opener. And they held on to a 1-1 draw against Celtic in Warsaw.

Shakhtar were significantly outplayed by Celtic, who controlled over 56 per cent possession and had a 16-5 shot advantage. But the Shakhtar defence stood firm, while their attack once again took their chances when they came.

Unlike in the Ukrainian Premier League, where they are once again dominating, Shakhtar use a counter-attacking style in Europe, and they are deadly at it. They have scored five goals in just 10 shots through two Champions League games, which is a testament to their ruthless efficiency.

In the absence of their trademark Brazilian contingent, Mykhaylo Mudryk has emerged as Shakhtar’s star attacker. The 21-year-old has already got two goals and two assists through two Champions League games, so Real Madrid must be wary of the danger he represents.

History

Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk have met six times before, including in each of the last two Champions League group stages. Real have four wins, while Shakhtar have two.

Both of those wins came in the shocking 2020/21 campaign, where they actually won both meetings against Madrid. They won 3-2 in Madrid, although it was at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano with no fans. And they shocked Real again in their second meeting in Kyiv as they won 2-0.

However, Real got their revenge on Shakhtar last season as they smashed them 5-0 in Kyiv. Vinicius got a brace in that win. And Real won 2-1 at the Bernabeu thanks to a Karim Benzema brace.

Betting Tip 

SBOTOP odds have Real Madrid priced as big 1.17 favourites to maintain their perfect record in the Champions League. Shakhtar are pegged at 11.50 to spring another big surprise on Real, while a draw is 7.40.

Matches between Real and Shakhtar have been quite high-scoring affairs; there have been four or more goals in four of their six games.

However, I don’t anticipate another high-scoring shootout this time around. Both teams are quite solid defensively, so I expect the two sides to engage in a low-scoring battle.

 

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