Bayern Munich are starting to purr under Vincent Kompany and should continue their UEFA Champions League revival when they make the short trip to Gelsenkirchen to face Shakhtar Donetsk.
The German giants were starting to wobble a little after a 4-1 spanking by Barcelona made it two defeats from their first three matches in the revamped Champions League.
But they followed up that loss in Catalonia by winning seven games in a row and their only loss in the last 10 matches came against Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup.
Kompany boasts one of the best squads in Europe yet Bayern are still as big as 8/1 in the outright odds to lift the club game's biggest prize.
A win over Shakhtar Donetsk would leave them in a good place to qualify automatically for the last 16 but the Ukrainians face a fight just to reach the play-offs after collecting just four points so far.
A 3-2 loss to PSV in Eindhoven last time out, which saw a scorer bet land for our man Gabriel, has left Shakhtar sitting 26th in the table so they could do with a shock win over mighty Bayern Munich.
How the bookies view it: Bayern red-hot favourites
With Shakhtar having to play this game in Germany due to the ongoing conflict in their homeland, it's no surprise to see them as Kwiff's 11/1 outsiders. Bayern Munich are just 1/9 and even the draw is pretty hefty at 26/5.
Head to head: Shakhtar rout for revenge
Despite both these teams being Champions League regulars they have only faced off once before. That came in the last 16 nine years ago and it's a tie Shakhtar will want to forget. After drawing 0-0 with 10-man Bayern at home, they were routed 7-0 in the Munich return.
Players to watch: Jamal the go-to guy
Jamal Musiala has impressed for Bayern Munich all season and will be their main man for this game with Harry Kane still out injured. He has 12 goals and four assists this season so looks good at 7/5 for anytime scorer with Bet365.
Shakhtar midfielder Oleksandr Zubkov has an impressive strike rate this season, with seven goals from 16 outings. He's 6/1 with Kwiff for anytime scorer which looks a little overpriced after he scored in the loss to PSV.
Probable line-ups
England captain Kane misses out for Bayern Munich again while keeper Manuel Neuer is also a doubt with a rib injury. Kingsley Coman and Alphonso Davies missed out at the weekend with injuries too while Mathys Tel was absent with injury.
Shakhtar's Pedro Henrique is suspended after his costly red card against PSV while keeper Tymur Puzankov remains out injured.
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Konoplya, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedrinho, Bondarenko, Kryskiv, Zubkov, Sudakov, Kevin, Sikan.
Bayern Munich: Peretz, Boey, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro, Kimmich, Goretzka, Olise, Musiala, Sane, Muller.
Anything else catch the eye?
Apart from a 3-0 battering by Atalanta, the Ukrainian side have been pretty competitive against Europe's elite, losing by just a single-goal margin to both Arsenal and PSV.
They were 2-0 up against the Dutch side in Eindhoven before Henrique was sent off so Shakhtar could cause Bayern a few problems. BTTS pays a decent 11/10 with Kwiff and combining that with a Bayern Munich win boosts the odds a little to 5/4.
I fancy a few corners in this one as the Germans have plenty of pace and power down the flanks. Over 9.5 corners looks good at evens with Bet365 while the same firm price Bayern -3 at 20/21 in the corner handicap.
Backing a few cards for Shakhtar could also pay off but no prices in that market were available at the time of writing.
This UEFA Champions League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Bayern Munich will be played on Dec 10, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Shakhtar Donetsk vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
