Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s game in the UEFA Champions League. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Los Blancos travel to Ukraine.
- DATE: Tuesday 1st December 2020
- KICK-OFF: 19:55 (local time)
- VENUE: NSC Olimpiyskiy
- COMPETITION: UEFA Champions League (Group Stage)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid Preview
Real Madrid travel to Ukraine on Tuesday for a crucial UEFA Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk. While Los Blancos may feel as though they’ve done the hard work in this group by taking maximum points from their double header with Inter, they’d slip back down to 3rd were they to lose this one.
That’s because Shakhtar caused a huge upset by winning at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on matchday one, despite their squad having depleted by a major COVID-19 outbreak. Real Madrid were 3-0 down at the break in that game, the first in a series of inexplicably bad home performances.
The latest came at the weekend when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Alaves in LaLiga, just days after an impressive win at the San Siro against Inter which really put their Champions League campaign firmly back on track. This is a pivotal phase in the season for Zinedine Zidane’s side with league games against Sevilla and Atleti as well as their final two Champions League group games coming up in the space of less than a fortnight starting here.
This on paper is the simplest of those games and victory would seal qualification into the knockout stage. That will certainly be the aim against a Shakhtar side that has only taken one point from their three UCL matches since winning in the Spanish capital. Their last two games, both against group leaders Borussia Monchengladbach, have resulted in 6-0 and 4-0 defeats which makes that MD1 result in Madrid seem all the more bizarre.
Like Real Madrid, they’ve been struggling with injuries to key players but they should still be able to field a stronger eleven than the one that stunned Los Blancos in October.
Head to Head
- Shakhtar were surprise 3-2 winners in Madrid on Matchday 1.
- The sides also met in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2015/16.
- Real Madrid won 4-0 at home and 4-3 in Ukraine.
Team News
Shakhtar’s lengthy injury list means they are likely to be without Davit Khochlava, Ismaily, Dentinho, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Viktor Korniienko here.
Eden Hazard is back on the treatment table having picked up another injury while Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal miss out again here. Karim Benzema may be fit enough to start.
Predicted Shakhtar Starting Lineup:
Pyatov – Cipriano, Matvienko, Bondar, Dodo – Marlos, Maycon, Antonio – Solomon, Moraes, Tete (4-3-3)
Predicted Real Madrid Starting Lineup:
Courtois – Mendy, Varane, Nacho, Vazquez – Kroos, Casemiro – Vinicius, Odegaard, Asensio – Benzema (4-2-3-1)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid Predictions
Score Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 Real Madrid
There are now some serious questions to be asked about this Real Madrid side, almost in every area of the team but with Zinedine Zidane likely to name his strongest available XI, they ought to have enough to see off a Shakhtar side whose confidence will have been shot by those two heavy defeats to Gladbach.
UEFA Champions League Betting Tips (18+)
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