Kick-off: 2000, 11/08/2020
Stadium: Arena AufSchalke
TV: BT Sport
Shakhtar Donetsk played some entertaining football in Wednesday’s defeat of Wolfsburg and may prove too hot for Basel to handle.
The Swiss outfit did well to get past last season’s Europa League semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt but still look a touch limited at this level.
We’re backing the Pitmen at 19/20 to prevail in normal time for our opening Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel prediction.
A Look At Shakhtar Donetsk’s Betting Odds
All of Shakhtar’s goals came in a late blitz when beating Wolfsburg 3-0 in Kyiv, but they had been dominant for long periods and could easily have doubled that tally.
Despite not breaking the deadlock until the 89th minute, there was time for prolific marksman Junior Moraes to bag a brace.
Manor Solomon also hit the target in an eventful match which saw both sides have a player sent off.
Head coach Luis Castro said: “We have enough quality to play at any stadium against any team in the world.
“Of course, sometimes we don’t win, but we always try and give all our efforts.”
That result gave Shakhtar a 5-1 aggregate victory, just as in the previous round versus Malmo.
Having come down from the Champions League, they are clearly finding Europa League opponents more conducive company.
If able to continue playing with such confidence and self-belief, 39/20 for the Pitmen to win and over 2.5 goals in the game stands out from the Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel odds.
A Look At FC Basel’s Betting Odds
Basel warrant respect after comfortably accounting for Eintracht Frankfurt, following up March’s surprise 3-0 success in Germany with Thursday’s 1-0 home victory.
In both matches, Marcel Koller’s side defended resolutely and proved very dangerous on the break.
“We’ve shown we can beat big sides,” declared midfielder Fabian Frei, who scored in both legs.
Securing two wins over Getafe during the group stage also reads well, but Basel were only third in Switzerland’s top flight and are still to convince us of their quality.
“We know that Shakhtar are a very strong, quick and technical side,” Koller told the UEFA website.
“It’ll be crucial that we defend with togetherness again and try to take our chances going forward.”
Sitting back against Shakhtar is a risky gameplan, though, as the Pitmen have the pace, slick passing and movement to open any defence up.
Let’s finish off our Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel betting tips by taking 4/1 for the scores to be level at half-time and then the Ukrainian champions to win.
Additional stats
Last result:
SHAKHTAR 3-0 Wolfsburg – Junior Moraes (2), Manor Soloman
BASEL 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt – Fabian Frei
Head-to-head: Shakhtar 5-0 Basel, Basel 1-2 Shakhtar
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