Monaco vs Shakhtar Donetsk Match Preview

First leg for the Champions League playoffs between Monaco and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Monaco did not encounter any particular difficulties in the 3rd qualifying round against Sparta Prague and with two victories, 2-0 on the road and 3-1 at home, they qualified for the playoffs of the competition Their goal, of course, is to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after 2 years of absence.

In the domestic league, they have not started well, as in the first two matches they remain without a victory, after a 1-1 draw with Nantes, followed by the 1-0 away defeat from Lorient. In the last match, however, they had a heavy rotation in their squad to have a more fresh legs in today's match.

Easy qualification for Shakhtar in the previous round, they prevailed over KRC Genk in both matches with 2-1 thus have the opportunity to claim now the qualification in the Champions League group stage.

In the Ukrainian league, they dominate the titles in recent years, and this year are the big favorite to cut the thread first. Last Friday, they prevailed easily 2-0 over Metalist and after 4 rounds, they are in the 3rd place of the standings with 9 points.

I expect a close match between two very high-quality teams. They have both shown at the beginning of the season that offensively they create many chances and score easily but defensively they find it difficult to keep a clean sheet. I expect a match of high interest and some goals. My pick is Over 2.5 goals at 1.80 odds.