Shakhtar Donetsk vs Genk

The UEFA Champions League qualification returns to action this midweek as Shakhtar Donetsk welcome Genk to the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium for the second leg of their third-round tie.

Shakhtar came from behind to claim an all-important 2-1 first-leg win away from home to put themselves in the driving seat heading into the return leg. The hosts will be looking to bounce back from a shocking 2-1 home loss to Oleksandriya in the Ukrainian Premier League last weekend and set up the play-off showdown against Sparta Prague or Monaco. Since being ousted from the 2016/17 Europa League last-16 by Celta, the Ukrainians have not lost any of the 11 European fixtures they started as favorites, both home and away (W7, D4). Curiously, none of Shakhtar’s ten home matches in all competitions this calendar year have ended as a draw (W6, L4), with eight of those results (win/loss) yielding a full-time margin of a single goal, including the last six in a row.

In the meantime, Genk pulled off a come-from-behind 2-1 away triumph over domestic rivals Kortrijk last time out to bring a three-game losing streak in all competitions to a halt. Adding to their confidence, the Belgian giants have picked up five wins in their last seven competitive away fixtures (D1, L1) despite failing to keep a clean sheet on each occasion. Interestingly, Genk’s only previous trip to Ukraine resulted in a narrow 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in 2013/14, giving the visitors an ounce of hope that they can orchestrate a comeback here. Nonetheless, we could be in for a tight, keenly-contested affair, based on the fact that each of Genk’s last 11 away games across all competitions have featured a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals.