Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk Prediction

Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk Prediction

Right now Portuguese league leaders Benfica resemble a boxer on the verge of being knocked out; badly stunned, reeling around the ring, on the verge of going down for the count. However, being Benfica, they still possess that KO punch that can turn things around. Benfica had been on a roll, undefeated since August. After losing 2-0 to Porto, Benfica went on a 16-match winning streak. They were top of their league, and looking to progress in Europe.

Then came a 3-2 defeat earlier this month to Porto, followed by a shock 1-0 home defeat against 3rd placed Braga and then came the 2-1 Europa League defeat to Shakhtar last week. Suddenly, Benfica are on the verge of surrendering their league leadership and crashing out of Europe.

On Sunday, Shakhtar scored a 1-0 win over Desna, maintaining their 14-point lead at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League table. Shakhtar have yet to lose domestically this season, and their W17, D2, L0 is almost as impressive as that of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Shakhtar found the going tougher in their Champions’ League group however, losing 3-0 to Manchester City, and also losing by the same score to Atalanta at home. They finished third in their UCL group, good enough for entrance into the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk Recent Meetings

Last week Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Benfica 2-1 in the first leg of the Europa League Last 32 knockout stages. The Ukrainian outfit opened the scoring with a goal from Alan Patrick on 56 minutes. Pizzi equalized for Benfica via a penalty ten minutes later, but on 72 minutes Shakhtar regained the lead thanks to what turned out to be the decisive strike from Viktor Kovalenko.

Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk Stats & Analysis

A major problem for Shakhtar Donetsk going into the second leg of this tie against Benfica is a lack of goal scorers. The two players who scored in the first leg – Alan Patrick and Viktor Kovalenko – are midfielders who hadn’t previously scored this season. Shaktar’s top scorer is Moraes, with precisely two goals.

By comparison, Benfica have two prolific scorers in their team in Carlos Vinicius with 14 goals from 19 appearances this season, followed by Pizzi with 12 goals. That said, Shakhtar have still managed to score 51 league goals this season, one more than Benfica.

Benfica vs Shakhtar Donetsk Bets

This is an extremely tough game to forecast. Benfica have the pedigree and talent, but their form is erratic, whereas Shakhtar have been rock-solid all season, aside from a couple of defeats against very good teams in the Champions League.

The away goal that Benfica scored last week will be cancelled out by an early strike from Shakhtar, and while Benfica will then score to level the game 1-1 on the night, it will be the Ukrainians who progress to the Europa League Last 16 via a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.

Benfica 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk – 7.50
Pizzi To Score – 7.00