Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid Match Preview

Shakhtar Donetsk is ranked at third place with four points and comes after a win a draw and two losses in four games played. They started perfectly winning on the road against Real Madrid and draw against Inter, but then they suffered consecutive losses against Borussia Monchengladbach. The results were pretty shocking as they lost 0-6 at home and 4-0 on the road.

Things seem to get only tougher for them as now they have to face Real Madrid, a team that will aim for the three points as they would risk their qualification ticket otherwise. Shakhtar Donetsk is averaging three goals conceded per game and the only game they managed to keep a clean sheet was against Inter.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, is ranked at second spot with seven points. They come after two wins a draw and a loss over four games played. It was a very poor start for them as they lost to Shakhtar Donetsk first and then barely got a 2-2 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach. Luckily for them, they managed to turn things around with two wins in a row against Inter 3-2 at home and 0-2 on the road.

In case of a win here they would secure their ticket to advance at the next stage. The absences of players like Hazard, Carvajal, Ramos and Valverde surely are important but they played quite well against Inter and the important thing is that in midfield we should see the trio Modric-Casemiro-Kroos.

In conclusion, I think Real Madrid can win this match. They are a better team than their rivals, despite all these key players missing and they will be motivated to seal the deal now in their favorite competition over the past seasons. Shakhtar Donetsk fell apart because of injuries and still, they have not recovered their most important pieces. I doubt they will get lucky twice against Real Madrid.