A COUPLE of months ago, Domenico Tedesco was just about the hottest managerial ticket in town…now the RB Leipzig manager is fighting to save his job and he daren't lose Tuesday's Champions League opener against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Italian coach guided Leipzig to a Europa League semi-final spot before they choked at Ibrox and crashed out to Rangers. He did lift Leipzig's first major trophy though when they won the German Cup.
However, Germany's most unpopular club have got off to a wretched start this season with just one win in the league from five games. And a 4-0 thrashing at Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend means the pressure has reached boiling point.
Calling his own players a ‘terrible disaster' after that hammering is hardly likely to endear himself either and he desperately needs a reaction against a side that it is very difficult to gauge.
Shakhtar have just restarted the Ukrainian League and they have won two matches 1-0 and were involved in a goalless draw in the other.
But the games are at a neutral venue and behind closed doors for obvious reasons and it's tricky to see what levels they are currently.
How the bookies view it
They see this as an easy win for the hosts with a best price of long odds-on of 4/17 with SBK being the best price on offer. Shakhtar can be backed at 16/1 with Coral and the draw is 6/1 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The clubs have never met before.
Players to watch
Timo Werner returned to Germany in a £25 million move in the summer and did help himself to a hat-trick against minnows Teutonia 05 Ottensen in an 8-0 German Cup thrashing. He is evens with SBK to net anytime at the Red Bull Arena.
Shakhtar have only scored two goals this season. One of them was scored by Artem Bondarenko and he is 6/1 with UniBet to score in Germany.
Anything else catch the eye?
This is a tricky one because it's very hard to see what standard Shakhtar are playing in at a neutral ground with no fans in. If you look at other Ukrainian clubs in Europe this season, Dynamo Kyiv were thrashed home and away by Benfica, although they did defeat Fenerbanhce and Sturm Graz, Dnipro were well beaten by AEK Larnaca, Vorskla Poltava lost to AIK and Zorya Luhansk were bundled out by Universitatea Craiova
Shakhtar are the champions and could give an out-of-form RB Leipzig a game here. They are a very generous 13/10 with Coral with a two-goal start in the handicap and can cover that.
With RB low in confidence and Shakhtar yet to concede in the league, it could be a slow burner and bet365's no goal before the 22nd minute at 5/6 is the call.
This UEFA Champions League match between RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk will be played on Sep 6, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best RB Leipzig vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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