Shakhtar Donetsk take on the visitors Ilves in the round of 1/8-finals of UEFA Europa League Qualifications. The match will be played on Thursday, June 10th at Stadion Stožice (Ljubljana).
Shakhtar Donetsk have dominated Ukrainian football almost unchallenged in recent years. They've also returned to spending significant sums, successfully attracting foreign talent despite the challenging circumstances. However, last season ended in major disappointment: Shakhtar finished third—behind not only Dynamo Kyiv but also Rotan's Oleksandriya, a scenario unseen in over a decade. Naturally, this triggered major changes, including a headline-making managerial appointment: Arda Turan. The Turkish legend, remembered both for his brilliance and controversy on the pitch, arrives after a solid stint at Eyüpspor but remains untested at this level. His official debut as Shakhtar manager will take place in Slovenia, with only a handful of preseason friendlies under his belt. Despite this, Shakhtar’s squad quality and ambitions remain far above the domestic standard of most of their European qualifying opponents.
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Ilves, unlike their opponent, are already deep into their competitive season. The “Lynxes” are far from being one of Finland’s elite clubs—their only Veikkausliiga title dates back to 1983. However, they’ve shown signs of resurgence in recent years, winning the Finnish Cup two seasons ago and finishing as league runners-up last season—marking their best domestic result in nearly 40 years. Although they came up just short of toppling champions KuPS, their improvement has been consistent. This season, they remain in the title hunt, part of a tightly packed group of 4–5 contenders with similar records. Two rounds ago, they beat struggling KTP at home as expected, but last weekend’s 1-1 draw against SJK cost them valuable ground, dropping them to third place in the standings. While the team is well-conditioned and battle-tested, the gap in class between them and Shakhtar is significant.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Shakhtar Donetsk and a representative from Finland. While Shakhtar are only nominally the home side, they’ll be eager to ensure Arda Turan’s debut doesn’t falter. Back the Ukrainians to win with a -2.0 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Shakhtar Donetsk to win with -2.0 handicap.
