RB Leipzig vs Shakhtar Donetsk Match Analysis and Prediction

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RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk will be looking to get their respective Champions League campaigns off on a positive start when they meet in Germany on Tuesday.

The hosts enter the contest off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga ,while Shakhtar claimed a 1-0 victory over Rukh Vynnyky in their last league game.

Leipzig began their 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign away to Stuttgart on August 7, with the two teams playing out a 1-1 draw, and they have since played a further five matches across two competitions, including an 8-0 victory over Teutonia Ottensen in the German Cup.

Domenico Tedesco’s side will enter their Champions League opener off the back of a 4-0 defeat at Frankfurt on Saturday, and they now have a very tough run of fixtures, facing Borussia Dortmund and Burussia Monchengladbach in the league ahead of the international break, in addition to Shakhtar and Real Madrid in Europe.

Meanwhile, Shakhtar will enter this game off the back of a 1-0 victory on Friday, which has left them second in their domestic standings, boasting seven points from three matches.

Igor Jovicevic’s side fell bottom of their Champions League group last season, but they did make it to the knockout round in 2017-18, losing to Roma in the round of 16.

The Ukrainian champions also made the qaurter-finals in 2010-11, losing to Barcelona, but it will take a big effort for them to progress through this particular group.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s next two games are likely to be crucial when it comes to their chances of making it through the section, as their next game after this one is at home to Celtic on September 14.

They have not conceded a single goal in their domestic league so far this season, which should mean that confidence is high.

RB Leipzig vs Shakhtar Donetsk head to head

The two teams have not previously met on any occasion and this will be their first meeting in the Champions League group stages.

RB Leipzig latest home form

RB Leipzig have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Wolfsburg 2-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded 13.

RB Leipzig 3-1 Southampton 16/07/22

RB Leipzig 0-5 Liverpool 21/07/22

RB Leipzig 3-5 Bayern Munich 30/07/22

RB Leipzig 2-2 FC Cologne 13/08/22

RB Leipzig 2-0 Wolfsburg 27/08/22

RB Leipzig latest away form

RB Leipzig have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They lost 4-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded eight.

Freiburg 1-1(P) RB Leipzig 21/05/22

Stuttgart 1-1 RB Leipzig 07/08/22

Union Berlin 2-1 RB Leipzig 20/08/22

Teutonia Ottensen 0-8 RB Leipzig 30/08/22

Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 RB Leipzig 03/09/22

Shakhtar Donetsk latest home form

Shakhtar Donetsk have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They defeated Kryvbas KR 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded three.

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 Al Adalah 10/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 Al Fateh 15/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Al Fateh 15/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk 0-0 Metalist 1925 Kharkiv 23/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 Kryvbas KR 28/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk latest away form

Shakhtar Donetsk have recently been on an upturn in form on the road, having won each of their two most recent matches. They managed to defeat Ruhk Vynnyky 1-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded 10.

Ajax 3-1 Shakhtar Donetsk 26/07/22

Utrecht 2-2 Shakhtar Donetsk 30/07/22

Roma 5-0 Shakhtar Donetsk 07/08/22

Domzale 0-3 Shakhtar Donetsk 10/08/22

Rukh Vynnyky 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk 02/09/22

RB Leipzig news

Dani Olmo is expected to miss out with the injury that he picked up against Frankfurt, so Dominik Szoboszlai should come in for a start.

Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku are again set to feature as the front two, while Emil Forsberg is expected to be introduced in central midfield.

Shakhtar Donetsk news

Mykhalo Mudryk was sent off on Friday but will be available for this European contest, and he should again feature in a wide position.

Danylo Sikan is yet to find the back of the net in three appearances this season, but he is again expected to lead the line for the visitors.

Prediction and Odds

RB Leipzig will be determined to bounce back from their league defeat on Saturday, and we are backing them to come out on top.

Shakhtar Donetsk certainly have the quality to cause problems, but the hosts should have enough to pick up an important three points in their group opener.

Odds: 1 2.10 X 2.05 2 2.21