Feyenoord vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-03-15 17:45.
This round of 16 UEFA Europa League (UEL) tie is finely poised after both sides couldn’t be separated in the first leg (1-1). Feyenoord will hope home advantage will be enough to get the job done and they can lean on an impressive record of no defeat from their last nine home matches in European competition (W7, D2). However, Shakhtar Donetsk have proved to be somewhat of a bogey team for the Dutch side who have yet to beat their opponents in three previous meetings (D1, L2).
Even so, the hosts are full of confidence and received a huge boost this weekend as their 2-1 win over Volendam retained their three-point cushion atop of the Eredivisie. Feyenoord’s run of 19 match unbeaten run in all competitions since October (W14, D5) indicates they’re clearly not struggling with the demands of juggling Europe with a title charge, but as they face off against second-place Ajax on Sunday, they could have half an eye on that mammoth Eredivisie clash.
Shakhtar enjoyed a similarly positive domestic weekend as their nearest title rivals dropped points while they beat Kryvbas KR 3-0 to go three points clear at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League. They’ll now hope to channel that form into a European road trip as Igor Jovićević’s men are looking to avoid three straight away defeats in this competition for the first time. Their recent away record of just one win in seven European games on the road (D1, L5) won’t inspire much belief of avoiding that plight ahead of what is a must win clash if Shakhtar are to advance.
Shakhtar have actually drawn the first leg of a European knockout tie on ten occasions in the past, but only three of those led to progression. However, if Jovićević is looking for a good omen to encourage his players, then pointing out that two of those three eventual successes came after the first leg finishing 1-1 could be the route to go.
Players to watch: Feyenoord’s Santiago Giménez has scored in three of his last four competitive appearances, while his two most recent UEL goals came in the 60th and 69th minute. Scorer from the first leg, Yaroslav Rakitskyi will be out to bury the ghost of his last visit to this venue when he was sent off after 75 minutes back in 2017/18.
Hot stat: Five of Feyenoord’s last six competitive home games have produced a red card.