Bologna take on the visitors Shakhtar Donetsk in the round 1 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Wednesday, September 18th at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna).
Bologna have followed the trend of mid-table teams and even underdogs making a big splash. In Italy, they were the biggest pleasant surprise, finishing in the Champions League zone. Thiago Motta, the Italian-Brazilian coach, worked wonders, guiding this solid but not particularly successful mid-table Serie A team to their historic qualification for Europe’s top competition. After that, he moved on to a bigger club, Juventus. Additionally, key players like Zirkzee and Calafiori left for England. Vincenzo Italiano, who had a decent run with Fiorentina, took over as head coach. The squad was bolstered by the likes of Odgaard, Cambiaghi, Dallingha, Pobega, Casale, and Dominguez. However, the start hasn’t been smooth: after a 1-1 draw at home against Udinese and a 0-3 thrashing by Napoli, they managed only a 2-2 draw with newly promoted Como in the last round.
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Shakhtar Donetsk is not at their peak. Last season, the "Miners" finished third in their Champions League group, with a notable win over Barcelona. However, in the Europa League, despite keeping Sudakov and signing several Brazilian talents, they were eliminated by a struggling Marseille side. At the start of the new season, Shakhtar didn’t spend much on reinforcements, and shockingly lost to Polissya and Oleksandriya, despite leading 2-0 in the first half against the latter, only to lose 3-4! But they bounced back with a convincing 5-2 win over Karpaty in their last match.
The "Rossoblu," despite being quite popular in Italy, have rarely played in European competitions. It’s no surprise that Shakhtar will face this Italian club for the first time. The Italians are considered strong favorites at home. However, it's important to remember that Bologna is essentially debuting in this tournament, and their squad has weakened significantly over the summer. We recommend betting on the more experienced "Miners" to avoid defeat in this match.
Prediction for the match: Shakhtar Donetsk not to lose (X2).
