Shakhtar Donetsk take on the visitors AS Roma at “OSC Metalist” in the first-leg clash of the 1/8 final stage of the UEFA Champions League. The match will be played in Kharkiv on Wednesday, February 21st.
At the moment Shakhtar Donetsk are taking the lead in the Ukrainian Premier League table, having great chances to win the gold medals. As for the UEFA Champions League, “Hirnyky” occupied the second place in Group F, having picked up 12 points in six encounters played against Manchester City, Napoli and Feyenoord. “Kroty” looked rather convincing in attack, having scored nine goals while their defense faced certain difficulties resulted in nine goals conceded. In the previous home battles Shakhtar Donetsk have smashed Chornomorets Odessa 5:0, broke Manchester City 2:1 and beat Veres Rivne 2:0.
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At the start of the season AS Roma have claimed for the gold medals of the Italian Serie A, however, afterwards the club went through hard times and now the Romans’ expectations are bound only with the Eurocup. “I Lupi” settled on the second position in Group C of the UEFA Champions League, having competed against Chelsea, Qarabag and Atletico Madrid. The Romans’ offense looked rather decent with nine scored goals just like their defense which conceded six goals. In the latest battles conducted on the road AS Roma have managed to defeat Udinese 2:0 and Verona 1:0 plus got 1:1 draw against Sampdoria.
The rivals have met already in the UEFA Champions League Play Offs and that meeting ended in favour of Shakhtar Donetsk. At this point it is quite hard to give an advantage to any opponent as both sides demonstrate spectacular football, however, due to the home-field factor “Hirnyky” have a slight advantage in the forthcoming fight.
Prediction for the match: Shakhtar Donetsk to win with 0.0 Asian handicap.
