Shakhtar Donetsk vs Celtic Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 768

Shakhtar Donetsk face Celtic in Group F of the Champions League on Wednesday, with the game taking place at the Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw due to the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine.

Igor Jovicevic’s side claimed a 4-1 victory away to RB Leipzig last week, while Celtic suffered a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid.

Given the number of key players Shakhtar have lost as a partial consequence of the war, their victory over Leipzig came as a surprise to many observers, while providing a huge lift to everyone associated with the club.

Shakhtar are used to playing away from home by now, having been unable to play at the Donbass Arena since May 2014 after Russia’s first offensive movements in the region.

However, having previously relocated to Lviv, Kharkiv and Kiev, they are now forced to play abroad entirely, with each of those regions considered too unsafe to host football matches in major UEFA competitions.

Meanwhile, Celtic are competiting in the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, having fallen in the qualifying rounds in each of the four seasons in between.

However, with Scotland’s constant rising, The Hoops automatically qualified for the group stage as a result of reclaiming their Scottish Premiership title from Rangers last season.

As such, last week’s visit of Spanish giants Real Madrid at Celtic Park was a tremendous spectacle, particularly as it came just three days after Ange Postecoglou’s side had seen off the threat of their fiercest rivals 4-0 at the same ground.

The unfortunate defeat places huge pressure on The Hoops to return from Poland with a positive result, otherwise they could be staring down the barrel at their European campaign becoming something of a disappointment even at this early stage in the Champions League.

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Celtic head to head

These two teams have previously met on just four occasions in the Champions League, where they have each claimed two victories. Shakhtar have scored six goals and conceded three in the process. Celtic won 2-1 at home in their last meeting in 2007.

Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Celtic 20/10/04

Celtic 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk 02/11/04

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Celtic 18/09/07

Celtic 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk 28/11/07

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 six most recent matches. They managed to defeat Chornomorets 2-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded four.

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

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

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

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

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Chornomorets 10/09/22

Shakhtar Donetsk latest away form

Shakhtar Donetsk have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their three most recent matches. They defeated RB Leipzig 4-1 in their last away game in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded eight.

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 1-4 Shakhtar Donetsk 06/09/22

Celtic latest home form

Celtic were beaten 3-0 by Real Madrid in their last home game in the Champions League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their previous nine games. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded three.

Celtic 2-0 Norwich City 23/07/22

Celtic 2-0 Aberdeen 31/07/22

Celtic 2-0 Hearts 21/08/22

Celtic 4-0 Rangers 03/09/22

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid 06/09/22

Celtic latest away form

Celtic have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their four most recent matches. They defeated Ross County 4-1 in their last away game in the League Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 23 goals and conceded just four.

Legia Warsaw 2-2 Celtic 20/07/22

Ross County 1-3 Celtic 06/08/22

Kilmarnock 0-5 Celtic 14/08/22

Dundee United 0-9 Celtic 28/08/22

Ross County 1-4 Celtic 31/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk news

Shakhtar Donetsk will take to the pitch without full-back Viktor Kornienko, who is not expected to return until next year after suffering a cruciate ligament rupture.

Jovicevic is unlikely to make any changes from the starting XI which defeated Leipzig, with Traore likely to start on the bench once again.

Celtic news

Celtic will make the trip to Poland without the duo of Carl Starfelt and Yosuke Ideguchi due to injury issues.

Having had the weekend off, fatigue should not be an issue for the visitors, with Postecoglou potentially restoring Kyogo Furuhashi to the team at the expense of Giorgos Giakoumakis in attack.

Prediction and Odds

Having showcased some excellent football at times despite eventaully falling short against Real Madrid, we expect to see a reaction from the visitors.

This game is essentailly being played on neutral territory, which could help Celtic recover from last week’s defeat by coming away with at least a point here.

Odds: 1 2.28 X 2.05 2 2.10