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Champions League football is back, with Shakhtar Donetsk hosting Bayern Munich in the first leg of this Round 16 encounter.
I think many people were surprised by the fact that Shakhtar qualified to this stage, including me … the Ukrainean team was always underperforming in the Champions League and prior to this season they sold their best players. Also there is the situation in Ukraine and Shakhtar could not play their matches in Donetsk. But Shakhtar did have the chance to be drawn in the weakest UCL group and they took advantage, finishing second behind Porto. Hosts are second in the league behind Dynamo Kiev but did not play an official match in over two months, so this could hurt them against a team like Bayern.
Coach Mircea Lucescu can field his best lineup today, the only missing player is Igor Stepanenko.
Bet on Shakhtar vs. Bayern Munich now and watch live streaming at Bet365.com!
Bayern started 2015 with a shock 1-4 defeat at Wolfsburg and a draw vs. Schalke … but the Bundesliga champions quickly recovered to beat Stuttgart 2-0 and then put on a show last weekend, beating Hamburg 8-0 at home! Bayern Munchen is getting into form just at the right time, but the Bavarian’s lineup will be widowed by some important players today: Alcantara, Lahm and Martinez are out for sure, while Ribery, Xabi Alonso and Rafinha are questionable.
Shakhtar Donetsk has never done too well in this competition, especially against the big clubs and especially against top clubs that play attacking football. That`s because Shakhtar has a coach that does not like to sit back and defend and also does not have the players for that, with all those Brazilians in the squad. I simply can’t see Shakhtar challenging Bayern with their own weapons … it will be an open game with a lot of spaces, it really is a dream matchup for Bayern and Guardiola. Add the fact that Shakhtar did not play an official match in two months along with the fact that they have to play in L’Viv and we have all the arguments for an away win.
Over 2,5 goals can also be a good bet, but it could become problematic if Shakhtar doesn`t manage to score (which is a real possibility) … so my tip here is Bayern to win with a 1 goal asian handicap. Correct score prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk – Bayern Munich 0-3.
Pick: Bayern (-1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.66 @ 10Bet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 5.28
Event date: 17 February
