Shakhtar were always the favourites to progress through their Europa League tie against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and the odds only improved for the Ukrainian side following their 2-0 away win in the 1st leg.
It was no surprise to see two Brazilians get on the scoreboard for Shakhtar in this game, as their squad is packed with talented players from that part of South America.
Alan Patrick opened the scoring at the Bloomfield Stadium in the 31st-minute, but it wasn’t until stoppage time in the second-half that Tete doubled the visitors advantage with what must have felt like a hammer blow for the Tel Aviv players.
Shakhtar followed up that 1st leg victory with a 2-0 home win in the league against Rukh Vynnyky and Maccabi Tel Aviv were also successful, beating Hapoel Be’er Sheva 1-0 in the 4th round of the State Cup.
Shakhtar have now won three of their last four matches, all via the same 2-0 scoreline, and under 2.5 goals have been produced in each of their last five competitive and non-competitive fixtures.
Five of Tel Aviv’s last six outings have also produced under 2.5 goals, so Thursday’s 2nd leg looks set to be a low-scoring affair. The visitors aren’t expected to rollover and die on Thursday, despite that 2-goal deficit, as they have only conceded 3-goals in their last six matches.
Dentinho and Maksym Malyshev both missed the 1st leg in Israel and aren’t expected back in training until some point in March. Eden Karzev and Uros Nikolic both have injuries that mean they are likely to miss the trip to the Ukraine this week.
Shakhtar are the big favourites to qualify for the next round following that clinical away win last week. The hosts have form in their favour, as well as the home advantage, and if Tel Aviv struggled to break the Ukrainians down in Israel, then they will surely find it even tougher to score in the away leg.
Neither of these teams have been involved in high-scoring games of late and with that in mind the smart money is going on a 2-0 home win.