Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Madrid 10/19/21 UEFA Champions League Soccer

Shakhtar Donetsk is hosting Real Madrid at Olimpiysky National Sports Complex in round 3 of Group D in the UEFA Champions League. Shakhtar is not having a good time in the Champions League this season, but they can still reach that 3^rd place. Real Madrid has won their first game against Inter, but they got sloppy against Sheriff Tiraspol and lost.

Shakhtar is undefeated in their last 6 games, but they are still chasing Dynamo in the Ukrainian Premier League. In the Champions League, Shakhtar is in last place with only 1 point, still without a scored goal, and with 2 conceded goals, which isn’t bad. In their last game against Zorya at home, Shakhtar was the better team with 59% of ball possession, 8 shots on goal, 4 corner kicks, and they have won this game 6-1. As far as the Champions League goes, I think this is the last train for Shakhtar, and without a positive result, they will be left behind, and they will get knocked out of the Champions League.

Real Madrid’s game in LaLiga this past weekend was also postponed, and that will give them a nice rest advantage before they go on and try to end their 3-game winless streak. Real Madrid now has 32 losses in a row, and both were 2-1 losses. Thanks to their loss in LaLiga a couple of weeks ago, Real has lost the top spot, but the season is still young. In the Champions League, Real Madrid is also in 2^nd place with 3 points, and they are behind Sheriff Tiraspol which is a sentence I never thought will say. The offense we saw in LaLiga from Real Madrid is yet to surface in the Champions League, and I hope that will happen here because they really need a win. Fortunately for Real Madrid, all of their players are healthy, most of them are in good form, but the one they need the most has been excellent lately, and that is Benzema. Overall, Real is playing well on both ends this season, but they need to bring out that offense as soon as possible.

The trends are split here, and even though Shakhtar is in better form, Real Madrid is the better team here. Real has the rest advantage, and yes, they are on the road, but I don’t think it will matter. I’m taking Real Madrid.