Sheriff Tiraspol vs Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA Champions League, KO: 17:45 Sep 15, 2021, Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena
Sheriff Tiraspol are set to make their debut in the UEFA Champions League with a Group D clash against Shakhtar Donetsk at Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena. The Moldovan club face experienced campaigners in Shakhtar, who are expected to claim a comfortable victory.
Sheriff Tiraspol are the first team from Moldova to ever make it to the group stage of the Champions League. They came through a difficult route, playing in every qualifying round and seeing off the likes of Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb along the way.
Yury Vernydub's men have also made a fine start to the Moldovan League, suffering just one defeat in nine matches. They head into Wednesday’s match off the back of a 2-0 victory against Petroclub in their previous fixture.
Sheriff Tiraspol were exciting in the qualifiers and accounted for the exit of a number of continental regulars. However, the main draw of the Champions League is a step up in quality and they are likely to struggle to match up to Europe’s elite clubs.
Shakhtar Donetsk also came through the qualifiers, seeing off Genk and French side Monaco to book their place in the group stage of the Champions League. Roberto De Zerbi's men travel to Sheriff in good form and currently sit second on the table in the Ukrainian Premier League.
The Ukrainians are regulars in the Champions League and have played in the group stage in the last four seasons. The high point of their recent European adventure was the double over Spanish Real Madrid in last season’s competition.
Once again, they are grouped against Real Madrid and Italian champions Inter Milan. Shakhtar will be keen to get some early points on the table to boost their chances of progressing to the knockout phase. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches and head into Wednesday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 victory over Dnipro in the Ukrainian Premier League.
How the bookies view it
Shakhtar Donetsk have been installed as favourites among the bookies and are priced at 9/10 by SBK to claim the win. Sheriff Tiraspol are outsiders at home at 7/2 with William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 11/4 with Skybet.
Head to head
Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk met during the qualifiers for the 2003/04 Champions League, with the Ukrainians playing out a draw in Moldova before running out 2-0 winners in the second leg at home.
Players to watch
Momo Yasane has impressed for Sheriff Tiraspol this season with four goals already to his name. The striker is priced at 10/3 by Paddy Power to find the net on Wednesday.
Lassina Traore will be the one to watch for Shakhtar Donetsk having scored six goals across all competitions this season. Paddy Power has the striker at 6/4 to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk have some quality in attack and both teams can be tipped to score at 10/11 with MansionBet. Shakhtar are expected to win but likely to concede, so over 2.5 goals can also be considered at 22/23 with SBK.
Shakhtar could also be backed to earn a win and over 2.5 goals at 15/8 with Skybet.
This UEFA Champions League match between Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk will be played on Sep 15, 2021 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Sheriff Tiraspol vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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