There are two Europa League quarter finals taking place on the 11th of August. One of which is between Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel. Due to the new format in the knockout stages of the competition this season the game will be played at a neutral venue. The one off match will take place at the Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen.
Shakhtar Donetsk managed to complete both legs of their Round of 16 tie against Wolfsburg. They won the first leg in Germany 2-1 back in March and completed the job by defeating the Bundesliga club 3-0 at home on the 5th of August.
Following the resumption of the Ukraine Premier League, Shakhtar Donetsk had little trouble in wrapping up the title. They are currently on a run of 10 matches without defeat in all competitions, winning 8 of those games. Shakhtar Donetsk are also undefeated in their last 4 Europa League matches, winning 3 and drawing one.
Trends show Shakhtar Donetsk have seen both teams score 5 of their last 6 Europa League games. In addition, over 2.5 goals have been scored in those 6 matches and Shakhtar Donetsk themselves have scored 2 or more goals in all of their last 4 Europa League games.
Wir packen den 🧳 #WyterInEuropa: Ab nach 🇩🇪!!! #FCBasel1893 #zämmestark #rotblaulive pic.twitter.com/zsiA7uHJsj— FC Basel 1893 (@FCBasel1893) August 6, 2020
Wir packen den 🧳 #WyterInEuropa: Ab nach 🇩🇪!!! #FCBasel1893 #zämmestark #rotblaulive pic.twitter.com/zsiA7uHJsj
Much like their opponents, Basel resumed their Europa League campaign having secured a good result in the first leg of their tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Swiss club produced a tremendous performance to win the first leg 3-0 in Germany and knew all they needed to do was keep things tight in the second leg at home to progress to the quarter final.
Basel won the match 1-0 thanks to a goal by Fabian Frei in the closing minutes of the game. Having finished third in the Swiss Super League this season, Basel know they must win the Europa League if they are to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Basel enjoyed a strong finish to their domestic campaign and coupled with their victory over Eintracht Frankfurt they are undefeated in their last 8 competitive games. Trends show they have won each of their last 5 matches in the Europa League and Basel have kept a clean sheet in each of those games. However, they come up against a strong attacking team in Shakhtar Donetsk and it could prove difficult to make it 6 clean sheets in a row.
Team news and Shakhtar Donetsk have two players who will definitely miss out due to injury. Ismaily and Maksym Malyshev are on the treatment table.
Basel will be without the injured duo of Jonas Omlin and Luca Zuffi plus they have doubts over the fitness of Ramires.
This could be an extremely close match with little between the two teams. Shakhtar Donetsk appear to have the stronger attacking unit and that could make the difference in a game which could see both teams score.