Antwerp take on the visitors Shakhtar Donetsk in the round 2 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 4th at Bosuilstadion (Antwerp).
Antwerp host their first home match of the group stage. The Great Old had long struggled to live up to their illustrious but not necessarily pleasant nickname. Historically a grand club, they couldn't even perform consistently in the Jupiler League, often found at a lower level. Furthermore, upon their return to the top flight, they delivered solid but not extraordinary results (though they won the cup and had some success in European competitions). The turning point came with the arrival of the Dutchmen, first with Overmars as the sporting director and then, under his influence, van Bommel as the head coach. Mark's coaching results were mixed. However, in Belgium, he managed to secure the golden double on his first attempt. After the summer break, they won the Super Cup, although they only overcame a modest Mechelen in a penalty shootout. In the Champions League qualifiers, they defeated AEK in both matches. However, they haven't performed consistently well in the national championship. In the group stage of the European competition, the club suffered a 0-5 defeat, albeit against Barcelona.
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In 2022, due to the armed conflict in Ukraine, the Miners were practically forced to rebuild their squad, if not entirely, then at least half of their core players. Only a few foreign players remained in Ukraine, and they needed to be replaced, mostly with players holding Ukrainian passports. The task was entrusted to Jovicic, and he managed to secure the Ukrainian Premier League title once again, and more importantly, orange and black performed well in European competitions – better than under De Zerbi with star Brazilians alongside Manor Solomon. Last autumn began with a resounding victory over RB Leipzig, followed by a near victory against Real and exciting draws with Celtic. This was enough to secure 3rd place in the group and a transfer to the Europa League. There, they defeated Rennes and played a draw with Feyenoord, but then suffered a heavy defeat in Rotterdam. This led to a change in management during the offseason. Van Leuven took over, someone who had previously worked in the Shakhtar football academy. So far, there have been ups and downs, with setbacks in the Ukrainian Premier League and a 1-3 loss to Porto in Hamburg.
These teams will face each other for the first time. The Miners are considered the underdogs in this matchup. However, they always play entertaining football, so it's worth considering a neutral option with a total over 2.5 goals.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
