SHAKHTAR Donetsk and Basel will battle it out for a place in the last-four of the Europa League on Tuesday evening in a one-legged affair at the Veltins Arena in Germany.
Both respective teams were in action last midweek where each side saw off Bundesliga opposition to set up this last-eight showdown in Gelsenkirchen.
Shakhtar brilliantly dismantled Wolfsburg in Kiev last Wednesday where a late goal-blitz saw Luis Castro's side secure a quarter-final place with a 5-1 aggregate success.
The Ukrainian giants domestic season concluded in mid-July and they cruised to yet another league crown having finished a resounding 23 points clear of second-placed Dynamo Kiev.
Standing in Shakhtar's way of a first semi-final appearance since 2016 is a Basel side who limped to a third-place finish in the Swiss Super League last season.
Having said that, Marcel Koller's men will take confidence from their 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at St. Jakob-Park last Thursday night.
Outright Betting
Shakhtar start this tie as 10/11 favourites with Boylesports while an all-square affair – an outcome that would set up extra-time and potential penalty-kicks – pays 11/4 with Betfred.
Basel have won each of their last five Europa League matches and a Swiss success on Tuesday night is trading at a 16/5 with William Hill.
Betting Angles
Shakhtar Donetsk have been in red-hot form since the resumption having won eight of their last 10 tussles across all competitions and they will be confident of putting Basel to the sword on Tuesday night.
It's also worth noting that the Ukrainian's have slammed in 24 goals in 10 outings since coming out of cold storage – an eye-catching average of 2.4 goals per-game.
What's more, Luis Castro's free-scoring side have notched at least two goals in each of their last four Europa League assignments and with that in mind I was pleasantly surprised to see two or more Shakhtar strikes priced up at 10/11 with Bet 365.
Indeed, Basel have recorded five successive Europa League clean sheets, however, this tie will represent their fifth fixture in just over a fortnight and Shakhtar could benefit from their opponents energy-sapping schedule.
Whether or not Shakhtar make the net bulge two or more times remains to be seen but I do fancy a few goals in Gelsenkirchen given that each of the Ukrainian's last five European outings have produced over 2.5 goals.
When digging a bit deeper it can be seen that Shakhtar have recorded just a solitary shutout across their last 27 continental clashes and each of their 10 European encounters this term have seen both sides get on the scoreboard.
Both teams to score will attract plenty of attention at 4/5 with Bet 365, however, I'm going to opt for an alternative angle by combining over one match goal alongside Shakhtar to qualify which will nudge the price up to 5/6 (Bet 365).
In considering who will get on the scoresheet value could lie with Shakhtar striker Junior Moraes who has racked up 25 goals across all competitions this season.
Five of those strikes have come in this season's Europa League and the Brazilian born Ukrainian looks nicely priced at odds-against of 7/5 with SportingBet to breach Basel's backline.
This UEFA Europa League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel will be played on Aug 11, 2020 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
