Shakhtar Donetsk vs Monaco Match Preview

2nd leg for the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League between Shakhtar Donetsk and Monaco.

Shakhtar took the lead in qualifying for the group stages of the competition after their 1-0 victory over Monaco in the first match in France. The Ukrainians opened the score in the 19th minute and then, despite receiving a lot of pressure, managed to resist and keep their lead until the end of the match. Now they have the upper hand to qualify and it is enough for them not to lose in order to achieve their goal.

In the domestic championship, they prevailed Chernomorets on Saturday away from home with 3-0 without any difficulty. With this victory, Shakhtar reached 12 points and climbed to the first place in the standings.

Very unfortunate was for Monaco the defeat in the first match for the play offs of the UEFA Champions League by Shakhtar with 1-0 and now they have to look for a victory in Ukraine to continue in the group stage of the competition. They started the match sluggishly and found themselves early behind in the score and despite the chances they created, especially in the second half, they could not avoid defeat.

However, they also come from a bad result for the French championship, as on Saturday they were defeated at home by Lens with 2-0. Monaco were bad throughout the match with tragic defensive gaps, while offensively they were unable to threaten the opponent's goal and were fairly defeated. Thus, after the first 3 games, they remains without a win, having a record of 1 draw and 2 defeats.

Shakhtar after their victory in the first match have the upper hand for qualifying. From game to game they raise their performance, at the same time that Monaco are disappointed at the beginning of the year and seem unable to react. I believe that the Ukrainian team will prevail in the second match and will solemnly qualify! My choice is home victory at odds of 3.00 by Bwin.