Servette take on the visitors Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of UEFA Conference League Qualification final round. First leg result: 1-1. The match will be played on Thursday, August 28th at Stade de Genève (Geneva).
Servette, on the one hand, collected a huge number of trophies in the last century. On the other, since the beginning of the new millennium, the project has faced enormous problems, mainly financial. Only recently have they managed to improve — not enough to challenge for the league title, but they did lift the Swiss Cup in 2024 and secured second place in the Super League twice in the last three campaigns, including last spring. However, since the summer break they have struggled to win, recording one draw and two defeats (aside from a 5-0 Cup victory against amateurs). Their Champions League campaign started brightly with an away win over Viktoria Plzen, but after opening the scoring at home they collapsed to a 1-3 defeat. Dropping into the Europa League, they immediately lost twice to Utrecht, 1-3 and 1-2. This downturn in form has raised questions about their ability to cope with both domestic and European commitments. Their attacking play looks promising, but defensive errors have repeatedly cost them points at crucial moments.
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Shakhtar Donetsk have already suffered several painful setbacks. The Orange-and-Blacks, after last season’s failure (finishing only third in the Ukrainian Premier League, even alongside the Cup, cannot be seen otherwise), unsurprisingly changed their coach. The new boss, Arda Turan, made a strong start: they won their opening league game and advanced in the Champions League qualifiers, beating not only Ilves (6-0 in the Turk’s debut match) but also a seemingly stronger Besiktas. However, they then drew twice 0-0 with Panathinaikos, and it hardly mattered that Shakhtar were closer to victory, as they eventually lost in the penalty shootout. To make matters worse, they dropped points against Karpaty, conceding three times, including a stoppage-time equalizer. Against Servette in the nominal home fixture, they conceded early and only managed to level the score. Despite this, Shakhtar have shown flashes of dominance and creativity in midfield. If they can find consistency in attack, their overall squad quality should make the difference.
This is the first official meeting between the two clubs. Their only previous encounter was a friendly in 2012, which Shakhtar won convincingly 4-0. It is time for the Miners to finally claim another European win. They were clearly the better side in the first leg but had to settle for 1-1 — this time, we expect Shakhtar to prevail in the decisive clash.
Prediction for the match: Shakhtar to win.
