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Shakhtar Donetsk will host Malmo FF in Lvov, with the two teams set to battle it out for the third place in Group A. Malmo is currently in pole position, having 3 points, compared with Shakhtar’s zero points. The difference comes from the direct meeting two weeks ago in Sweden, won 1-0 by Malmo.
After losing with a 7-0 aggregate score to Real Madrid and PSG, Shakhtar was hoping for a positive result in Sweden, but it was not to be. At least the Ukrainians only lost by one (Malmo missed a penalty), so they have a chance to overtake Malmo if they win by 2 goals here. While the hosts are not at the same level they were 2-3 years ago, having lost players, they are still a solid side and are playing lights out in Ukraine right now – winning 10 consecutive games, including 3-0 over Dynamo Kiev two weeks ago and 7-1 over Zorya this weekend.
Malmo is having a disappointing domestic season despite making some good investments over the summer. They are on the back of a 0-2 home loss to Norrkoping, falling back to the 5th place in Allsvenskan. Still, Malmo somehow raised their level in Europe, knocking out Salzburg for a second year in a row, playing decent matches against PSG and Real (both 0-2) and finally beating Shakhtar in the last round. The visitors however are much more of a threat at home – as they lost 8 of the last 9 away matches in Europe, 6 of them by 2 or more goals and the only win was against Zalgiris.
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Team news & lineups:
Mircea Lucescu’s Shakhtar is blessed with a clean bill of health ahead of this game, while Malmo only misses Azinovic.
Shakhtar: Pyatov – Srna, Rakitskiy, Kucher, Ismaily – Stepanenko, Fred – Marlos, Teixeira, Taison – Gladkiy
Malmo: Wiland – Tinnerholm, Arnason, Bengtsson, Konate – Rodic, Adu, Lewicki, Berget – Djurdjic, Rosenberg
Malmo’s win two weeks ago wasn`t particularly surprising given their strength at home and Shakhtar not being the same team as in the past, but it will be a different thing alltogether in Ukraine. The hosts have no choice but to win this and even a 1 goal win will not be enough, as they need to overcome the Head 2 Head with Malmo and the worse goal difference – so they will come out with strong intensity right from the start, while Malmo on the road is just not the same team – and playing far away in Eastern Europe won`t help them, even if Shakhtar is still unable to host teams at their own stadium.
This should be the 9th loss in the last 10 road matches in Europe for Malmo – and the 7th by a form of handicap. Shakhtar is the better side, they are in good form, beat Fenerbahce 3-0 here not long ago and should get what they need – meaning a 2+ goal win to propel them over Malmo in the race for the third place. Look for the excellent domestic form to finally translate into the Champions League for the home side. My tip is Shakhtar to win and cover the 1,25 asian handicap. Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk – Malmo 3-0.
Pick: Shakhtar Donetsk (-1,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.77 @ Sbobet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.16
Event date: 3 November
