Shakhtar Donetsk is performing well in the Ukrainian Premier League. In seven played rounds, the team has won five times and drawn twice. This impressive record places them at the top of the league table with 17 points. Honestly, there isn’t much belief in Shakhtar’s European prospects, as they recently played friendly matches against top clubs and lost all of them by significant margins: to Tottenham (1-5), Ajax (0-3), and even Greek AEK (0-5). It’s no surprise that in the clash against the giants of Portuguese football, coached by Patrick Van Leuven, Shakhtar Donetsk is clearly the underdog. In their first European club competition match, Shakhtar will be without players like Bondar and Traore. Matviyenko’s participation is also uncertain due to an Achilles injury.
Porto realized they couldn’t continue playing the way they did after losing to Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup (0-2). In the new season of the national league, they started confidently with four wins and one draw in five played rounds. Only by additional indicators are the “Dragons” currently in second place behind Sporting Lisbon. When looking at the opponents in the group, only Barcelona poses a serious threat, whereas their upcoming opponent, Belgian side Antwerp, appears less dangerous, as they don’t seem to surpass Porto in terms of gameplay. Based on this, one could conclude that Sergio Conceicao’s prot?g?s have good chances of advancing from the group. In the upcoming match, Porto will be missing several players, including Veron, Gruchich, Marcano, Pepe, and Evanilson. Nonetheless, the bookmakers believe in “Portistas” and have them as favorites.
