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Aron Wright - July 24, 2018
Desna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Ukraine – Premier League
Date: Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Kick-Off at 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET
Venue: Stadion im. Yuriya Haharina, Chernihiv.
Desna clawed their way to the first ever promotion in the top flight of the Ukrainian football and what a debut they will have on Wednesday. The inaugural elite tier clash will see them play the reigning champions Shakhtar Donetsk and anything but a disaster will be regarded as a success for Oleksandr Ryabokon and his men here.
The visitors will come into the game aiming to rebound from weekend’s 0-1 loss to fierce rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Super Cup. It was a non-deserving defeat for the Miners who were the dominant force throughout the 90 minutes of play, but just failed to convert in front of Dynamo’s goal on the occasion.
Desna had the opportunity to take on Shakhtar Donetsk for the second time on Wednesday.
The two sides met each other in the early stages of the Ukrainian Cup back in 2014 when the Miners expectedly took a comfortable 0-2 victory.
Shakhtar enter the new season with high ambitions having signed a host of exciting young prospects from Brazil. The only departure worth mentioning is Fred who made a €59m Manchester United move this summer. The head coach Paulo Fonseca has a brand new Brazilian attacking pair in the likes of Junior Moraes and Fernando who are expected to lead the line here.
Shakhtar’s defensive line did well in the off-season as the team shipped just two goals in last five games even though the opposition in last three included the likes of Vitesse, Besiktas and Dynamo Kyiv. Knowing they are up against league debutants here, we just have to go with the Miners to keep a clean sheet at the odds of 1.44.
We expect Shakhtar to be dominant from the very first whistle and to pick up a straightforward and comprehensive victory to boost up the confidence after the Super Cup defeat. The alternative bet is Shakhtar to have the lead at the half time and win the match at the end at the odds of 1.50.
Shakhtar Donetsk to keep a clean sheet @ 1.44
HT/FT Shakhtar Donetsk/Shakhtar Donetsk @ 1.50.
