Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk
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Today’s free tip is in the UEFA Champions League encounter in Spain between Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk.
A shock home defeat at weekend against Cadiz means that this game is more important for Real Madrid, even though it’s in a different competition. It’s basically unacceptable for the Spanish juggernauts to not win every game, as you all know, let alone to lose at home against a newly-promoted Primera Liga side. They’ll find tonight’s game tougher than that one too. I mean, Cadiz caused them problems by defending well and countering, and in the last part of that game, they looked more likely to score than Real Madrid did, their hosts going down without so much as a whimper.
Shakhtar Donetsk aren’t going to park the bus under Castro; it’s just not their style. They’ll focus on using the ball intelligently in midfield, and they’re very good at that. The display of Real Madrid at weekend won’t concern them, and the absentees/potential absentees of the home team can only encourage the Ukrainians here, I feel. Don’t get carried away, though. Real Madrid are still a top team, and Shakhtar Donetsk are without players too here. There are a lot of question marks over good players like Moraes, Taison etc. so it’s fair to say that neither team is at full-strength.
Instead, the way to analyse this game is based exclusively upon the styles utilised. Now, Real Madrid may have problems breaking teams down that sit deep, but I’m sure they’ll overcome it in due course, as they always do. That won’t be something that faces them tonight, given Shakhtar Donetsk’s attacking nature. Admittedly, the visitors are likely to spend more time making short passes in the Real Madrid half, waiting for gaps to appear, and some could perceive that as a defensive approach. Ultimately, though, both teams are going to fancy their chances tonight, and why not? Club Brugge scared the hell out of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last season. Manchester City won here. AFC Ajax Amsterdam hammered them here, and even CSKA Moscow beat them 3-0! This has become a very easy place to play football.
That obviously doesn’t make Real Madrid an easy side to face, but it’s something to keep in mind. The squad Real Madrid have right now is partially about players that are in the twilight of their respective careers, and partially about players that are potentially stars of the future. What’s lacking in the midst of that is match-winners. Benzema, Ramos, Kroos, and Modric are the only match-winners they have left, and Benzema is not getting much service whilst Kroos and Ramos have struggled for fitness. Vinicius Junior has shown good form this season, and Courtois has obvious quality too, but neither look like a match-winner at UEFA Champions League level yet.
Real Madrid don’t have a bad team; they’re just not as good as usual, and I would be surprised if a silky, precise Shakhtar Donetsk didn’t cause them issues for that reason, even with potential rotation in mind. Shakhtar Donetsk have a lot of depth, a lot of quality in the final third, good finishers, composed players on the ball, and the best defensive midfielders they’ve had since the Tymoschuk days. I do think that their defence is quite poor, but actually getting at it is problematic because you need to get the ball back first, which they seldom give away. This is a really slick Shakhtar Donetsk side, and one that has a very genuine chance of upsetting the odds tonight.
I’m not prepared to get involved on the 1×2 front until I see the line-ups as there are too many questions marks. However, backing both teams to score at 9/10 suits me just fine here, and I really am tempted by the long odds on the away team too. It’s a good time to face Real Madrid.
Verdict: Both teams to score at 9/10.
Wednesday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
UEFA Champions League:
Salzburg vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid
Internazionale vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Manchester City vs FC Porto
Olympiakos Piraeus vs Olympique de Marseille
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Liverpool
FC Midtjylland vs Atalanta Bergamo
Copa Libertadores:
Racing Club Avellaneda vs Estudiantes de Merida
Club Nacional de Montevideo vs Alianza Lima
Flamengo vs Atletico Junior Barranquilla
Independiente del Valle vs Barcelona Guayaquil
Bolivar La Paz vs Club Guarani Asuncion
Palmeiras vs Tigre
Brazilian Serie A:
Vasco da Gama vs Corinthians
Faroese Betrideildin:
KI vs B36 Torshavn
Finnish Ykkonen:
Kajaani vs MyPa
Italian Serie B:
Lecce vs Cremonese
Dutch Eredivisie:
RKC Waalwijk vs PEC Zwolle
Enjoy your free betting tips!