Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord square off in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash. Both teams have appeared almost unstoppable in recent weeks and look set to cancel each other out on Thursday.
Shakhtar dropped from the Champions League and overcame Rennes in the knockout playoffs to progress to the round of 16. They needed penalties to see off the French side after both teams claimed 2-1 victories in their home fixtures.
Aside from the defeat in France, Shakhtar Donetsk have been generally impressive in recent weeks. Igor Jovicevic’s men are unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches across all competitions, claiming six wins in that run.
Playing their home matches in Poland does not appear to have affected Shakhtar Donetsk this season. They will look to build on the win over Rennes while a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid during the group stage of the Champions League will also give them confidence.
Feyenoord are making their first appearance in the knockout stage of the Europa League after drawing a bye into the round of 16. They finished top of a tricky group in the first round after claiming two wins and as many draws and defeats from six matches.
The Dutch side have picked up their form since the group phase and are unbeaten in their last 14 matches across all competitions. Arne Slot’s men warmed up for the trip to Poland with a 1-0 victory over Groningen in the Eredivisie last Saturday.
Feyenoord’s recent away record has also been impressive as they are unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions. However, they failed to claim a single win on the road during the group stage of the Europa League with a 2-2 draw at Midtjylland their biggest away result in the competition.
How the bookies view it
Feyenoord have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 13/10 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Shakhtar Donetsk is valued at 21/19 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 with bet365.
Head to head
Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord met twice during the group stage of the 2017-18 Champions League with the Ukrainians winning both matches. They claimed a 2-1 win in the Netherlands before picking up a 3-1 victory at home.
Players to watch
Shakhtar Donetsk will look to leading scorer Danylo Sikan to provide the spark in attack. The forward has two goals in his last two matches and is priced at 2/1 by Paddy Power to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Santiago Gimenez has impressed lately and could be worth keeping an eye on for Feyenoord. The attacker has found the net in his last four away matches and to be backed to get on the score sheet at 2/1 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord often adopt an open style of play and can serve up a high scoring contest on Thursday. Over 3.5 goals can be considered at 9/4 with BetVictor, over 2.5 goals is valued at 5/6 with BoyleSports while SBK is offering 13/18 on both teams to score.
Both teams have had late showings in recent times and can be backed to score in the second half at 2/1 with William Hill.
This UEFA Europa League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord will be played on Mar 9, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Shakhtar Donetsk vs Feyenoord prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
