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Champions League: Malmo FF vs Shakhtar Donetsk preview

Kick off: Wednesday, 21.10.2015. @20:45

Venue: Swedbank Stadion

Head to head record

No past meetings

Malmo FF vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction

Shakhtar Donetsk will be hoping to bounce back from back-to-back defeats to the likes of Real Madrid and PSG when they take on Malmo at Swedbank Stadion in their third group game. The Miners face a must-win situation in Wednesday’s clash, but beating the Swedish champions on the road is easier said than done.

Tough draw

Malmo booked their place in the Champions League group stages for the second consecutive season. The Swedish outfit recorded one win in the last season’s edition of the elite competition, but they have yet to register a victory in the 2015/2021 Champions League campaign. The Blues suffered a 2-0 loss to PSG at Parc des Princes in their opener and they were not capable of making life difficult for Spanish giants Real Madrid in their first home fixture of the process. To make things even worse for the fans, Age Hareide’s men failed to defend the domestic title, meaning that they head into Wednesday’s game against Shakhtar Donetsk with the lack of confidence. Malmo were handed a very tough draw in the Champions League group stages and I would not be surprised if they finish the process without collecting a single point. A man to watch in the home team will be Markus Rosenberg, the former WBA attacker.

Zlatan Azinovic and Guillermo Molins are both out of contention with injury, while Yotun misses the Shakhtar Donetsk game through suspension. Coach Age Hareide has no other selection worries ahead of the match.

Must-win situation

Shakhtar Donetsk have been playing an important role in the Champions League in recent years. The Ukrainian outfit made it to the knockout stages of the competition last term, but it remains to be seen if they are capable of repeating the success in the 2015/2021 Champions League campaign. Mircea Lucescu’s men head into Wednesday’s game against Malmo following a thrilling 3-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Ukrainian Premier League derby and they are surely eager to record their first win in the elite competition. The Miners were totally outplayed by PSG in their last Champions League match, but no doubt they are capable of picking up all three points from Wednesday’s clash against Malmo. Alex Teixeira is undisputedly the team’s key player at the moment and all eyes will be on him when Malmo and Shakhtar take on each other at Swedbank Stadion. It has to be noted that the Brazilian footballer has netted 17 goals in all competitions this season.

Winger Taison should recover in time to face Malmo. Mircea Lucescu has no other selection worries ahead of the trip to Malmo and he is unlikely to make too many changes to the team that faced PSG last month.

Malmo FF vs Shakhtar Donetsk betting tip

Both Malmo and Shakhtar Donetsk are desperate to grab something from Wednesday’s clash at Swedbank Stadion. The Ukrainian side proved their worth in the 3-0 victory over Dinamo Kiev at the weekend and seeing that Mircea Lucescu has a full squad to choose from, I believe that there is a certain value in betting on the visitors, who are eager to return to winning ways in the Champions League. Malmo do not seem to be at the top of their game at the moment and I would not be surprised if they fail to grab something from their third group game.

Tip: Away win

Odds: 1.80 (4/5) at BetVictor

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