Celta Vigo vs Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA Europa League – Round of 32, 1st leg
Date: Thursday, 16th February 2017
Kick-Off at 18:00 UK / 19:00 CET
Venue: Estadio de Balaidos, Vigo.
Judging from Shakhtar Donetsk’s Europa League season alone it would be tough to name a side that has a bigger shot at winning the Europa League this season. Shakhtar after all not only completely dominated the group stage, but also is rocking the domestic Ukrainian Premier League where they are now 13 points ahead of their biggest rivals Dynamo Kyiv after a convincing 4-3 victory against Dynamo on matchday 18 in December.
Yet there is a big but over Shakhtar’s push for the title in the Europa League. The match against Dynamo Kyiv on December 12 was their last competitive game. Ukraine’s winter break will in fact not end until March 18 when Shakhtar face Vorskla Poltava. That game will take place after the round of 32 in the Europa League has finished.
This means that Shakhtar’s first two competitive games of 2017 will be against Celta Vigo in the Europa League. The challenges of the lengthy winter break for Russia and Ukraine clubs has been discussed in great length at the World Football Index – Futbolgrad Podcast. Former Shakhtar head coach Mircea Lucescu has always been very good to manage his squad during the winter by playing competitive matches abroad.
New head coach Paulo Fonseca, however, never had to deal with a three month long break before, and it will be interesting to see whether he was able to keep his squad match fit while training in Portugal. The two matches against Celta Vigo will therefore present Shakhtar with their biggest challenge in the Europa League.
Celta Vigo in the meantime were given a significant challenge for their next step in the Europa League. But head coach Eduardo Berizzo will be aware of Shakhtar’s disadvantage, because of the winter break. Celta will therefore have to make good use of the first fixture at home at the Balaídos in order to have a fighting chance when the fixture heads to Kharkiv.
Celta Vigo vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Form Guide
Celta Vigo started the year 2017 in superb form, raking in 6 consecutive wins. The last of the series was the 2-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Copa del Rey quarter-final. Since then, they have been on a roller-coaster ride, managing to win just once in the next six. Their last two matches end in defeat, the most recent one at Atletico Madrid by a 3-2 margin.
The Ukrainian Premier League has been on winter break since the middle of December. However, they were involved in a series of friendlies to keep the player fitness at the highest level. Shakhtar Donetsk are unbeaten in their last 25 competitive games, which includes 25 wins. It could even sound scarier to oppositions when they figure out that the Paulo Fonseca’s team has kept clean sheets in 17 matches during the period.
Celta Vigo vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Head-to-head stats
The only meeting between the two sides happened in the third round of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Celta edged Shakhtar by a narrow 1-0 margin. The lone goal came in the second leg at Vigo. This was Celta’s only previous meeting with a team from Ukraine.
Shakhtar Donetsk have plenty of experience in playing against La Liga teams. But they have a poor record after managing to win just 4 times from 23 meetings. They drew 6 and lost 13 during the period. Their record in away trips to Spain is 2 wins, 2 draws and 7 defeats from 11 matches.
Celta Vigo vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Prediction
There is no doubt that this will be one of the top clashes of this round. Both teams are attacking oriented in their style of plan and will be an entertaining spectacle for the neutrals. Celta are unbeaten in 15 of their last 16 home matches in all competitions. While Shakhtar are good in both home and away legs.
Just like the bookmaker’s ratings, we believe both teams have an even chance of winning this fixture. And we are expecting to see at least 2 goals in the second half.
Celta Vigo vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Bet Tips
Over 1.5 goals in Second-Half at 2.30 (13/10).
