Shakhtar vs Feyenoord – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our Europa League Predictions, we take a look at the first leg of the round of 16 tie between Shakhtar and Fenerbahce. Shakhtar have a crisis at the back with 3 suspensions and injuries – can they cope without them? Read on with our Shakhtar vs Feyenoord prediction.

Shakhtar vs Feyenoord Match Preview

Shakhtar come into this Europa League match on the back of a full-blown defensive suspension crisis which, laughably, most of the other major outlets for football previews and predictions have missed. Konoplya, Mykhaylichenko and Bondar are all unavailable for selection in this last 16 Europa League knockout tie, which shows the value of doing your homework. Jabs aside, this will undoubtedly hinder their chances at keeping out a Feyenoord side averaging just over two goals per game in the competition thus far.

Jovicevic’s men managed to reach the knockout stage proper of the competition by defeating Rennes on penalties following a 3-3 aggregate draw. The Donetsk side have restarted their Ukrainian domestic campaign in prolific fashion, with a 4-1 victory over Minaj and a 7-0 away win over Metalist 1925. Nevertheless, Shakhtar actually sit in second place at the moment to Dnipro-1, although that is expected to change soon as Dnipro have encountered a rough patch of form. Despite concerns over the loss of Mudyrk to Chelsea, their goal output hasn’t suffered in the four matches they’ve played since his transfer, though admittedly it is a rather small sample size.

Feyenoord emerged on top of Europa League Group F following a chaotic campaign which saw them, Midtjylland, Lazio and Sturm Graz all finish on eight points with goal difference deciding the group placings. Thankfully for Feyenoord, a 6-0 home victory over Sturm Graz was largely responsible for ensuring their progression to the last 16 without the need for a playoff.
A tense 1-0 home win over Lazio, an ill-tempered affair which saw the visitors pick up seven yellow cards and a late red card, was enough to see the Rotterdam side through.

Slot’s charges haven’t lost a single match since their 1-0 away defeat to Sturm Graz in the Europa League group stage. This encompasses a run of 17 matches which has them play Lazio, Ajax and PSV, and consequently, they find themselves top of the Eredivisie three points clear of Ajax. With just one league defeat all season, Feyenoord have established themselves as credible title challengers as they look to win their first title since 2017 and, incredibly, only their second this century.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Shakhtar:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Bondar, Konoplya, Korniienko, Mykhaylichenko, Shved

Feyenoord:

Might Not Play: Walemark

Will Not Play: Bijlow, Timber

Shakhtar vs Feyenoord Lineups (Predicted)

Shakhtar: (4-3-3): Trubin; Matviienko, Rakitskyi Stepanenko, Lucas Taylor; Djuarsek, Bondarenko, Sudakov; Kryskiv, Zubkov, Traore

Feyenoord (4-2-3-1): Wellenreuther; Hartman, Hancko, Geertruida, Pedersen; Wieffer, Kokcu; Idrissi, Syzmanski, Jahanbakhsh; Gimenez

Our Prediction

It’s difficult to overlook Shakhtar’s issues with suspensions and injuries in defence here. If those suspensions and injuries had been spread more evenly throughout the playing squad i.e. midfield and attack also, then they would be able to compensate better. As it stands, we feel that they may struggle with a dip in quality and also players being played out of position such as Stepanenko and Matviienko.

While they managed to squeak past Rennes on penalties, we feel that Feyenoord at the moment are a little bit better than Rennes. For instance, Rennes have lost five of their last 10 Ligue 1 matches. When we throw into the mix the lack of home advantage for Shakhtar owing to the war in Ukraine, it all mounts up.

Feyenoord should be able to build upon their increasingly impressive domestic form with a big victory here. While we acknowledge that they were inconsistent in the Europa League group phase, they defeated Lazio when it mattered and the 6-0 drubbing of Sturm Graz shows what they’re capable of when they click. This is the wrong match for Shakhtar to be suffering from a lack of first-choice defenders, and we feel it will show in the end.

Shakhtar 1-3 Feyenoord

Shakhtar vs Feyenoord Betting Tip – Feyenoord Odds: