UEFA Champions League: Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Shakhtar Preview, Odds, Prediction

Borussia Monchengladbach and Shakhtar Donetsk open Wednesday’s Champions League program. The first leg saw one of the weirdest games in European competitions this season, with the Germans posting a 0-6 victory on the road and completely humiliating the Miners. Why that happened, nobody understands. But what we do know is that the Ukrainian powerhouse aims to get even with Monch. And if they defeated Real Madrid on the road, we are quite sure that they can do the same against this rival.

Preview

Borussia Monchengladbach (-200) didn’t win since that explosion in Ukraine, posting a loss in Leverkusen against Bayern, 4-3, and after that played 1-1 at home vs. Augsburg. This was a truly disappointing outcome for the hosts in that contest.

Since the campaign started, Borussia played five matches at their stadium, not losing a single one, but rarely winning, just once. The other four games ended with a draw each time with goals on both sides. What is very important here, is that four of those games ended with under 2.5 goals, which wasn’t the case in previous years.

Monch was known as a team who likes to play open and offensive football, often providing many goals. Right now, that is only on the road, but at home, Borussia’s events are far from efficient.

Shakhtar (+500) comes to Germany overwhelmed with injuries. Additionally, what damaged their morale is a draw in the most recent domestic contest, against Oleksandriya, 1-1.

Overall they haven’t been playing that bad in the last 10 matches, posting only one defeat that already mentioned vs. Monch, with five wins and four draws. They held off Inter at home 0-0, following a shocking 2-3 triumph over Real in Spain.

Shakhtar is also a team that likes to play open football with plenty of scoring chances. Only one in the last five road games hasn’t seen over 2.5 goals.

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A big hit for the hosts will be the absence of their best player in the Champions League, Alassane Plea. He’s been without a key figure for their current success. Ramy Benebaini has COVID-19, and Jonas Hofmann is out due to a hamstring injury.

Shakhtar has several first-team players who won’t participate in this event. Ismaily, Konoplyanka, Kovalenko, and Malyshev are out for sure. Marlos and Taison, two of the best players, are questionable.

Head to Head Games

In 2009 Shakhtar defeated Borussia in a friendly match, 3-0. However, they would concede twice as many goals in the most recent meeting. Three of Monch’s six scores followed Plea’s effort, and Bensebaini, Stindls, and Bondar (own goal) all posted their names on the scoresheet.

Prediction

The main thing here is Shakhtar’s injury situation. If they manage to recover Taison and Marlos, there is a glimpse of hope for the guests, if not… well, the Miners will experience another defeat. Right now, apart from suggesting to bet on the hosts’ win, we would also tell you to go with over 1.5 goals in the second half. The odds for this pick are set at -175.