VFL Wolfsburg at Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa League Soccer: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 12:55 PM (NSC Olumpiyskiy Stadium)
The Line: Shakhtar Donetsk +135 / Draw +260 / VFL Wolfsburg +185 -- O/U: 2.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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Shakhtar Donetsk and VFL Wolfsburg meet in a UEFA Europa League round of 16 matchup from the NSC Olumpiyskiy Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Shakhtar Donetsk comes into the second leg owning a 2-1 lead over Wolfsburg after the reverse fixture and also as Ukrainian Premier League champions, finishing a whopping 23 points clear of second place Dynamo Kyiv at the top of the mountain. A big part of that title came after the restart where Shakhtar went unbeaten in their nine games after the restart with seven victories over that span. Junior Moraes leads Shakhtar Donetsk in scoring with 20 goals as well as a team-high 8 assists while Marlos has 13 goals and Taison has 10 goals with 8 assists as well this season. Andriy Pyatov is Shakhtar’s top goalkeeper, posting a 20-3-0 record with 11 clean sheets this season.
VFL Wolfsburg on the other hand will look to bounce back after losing the first matchup with Shakhtar earlier this year. Wolfsburg finished the Bundesliga in 7th place, clinching a spot in next year’s Europa League qualification round on the final matchday. Wolfsburg had trouble maintaining consistency in the nine games since the restart, never posting back-to-back results of the same ending. Following up each win with a loss or a draw. Wout Weghorst leads Wolfsburg in the scoring department with 16 goals on the year while Maximilian Arnold has a team-high 8 assists for Wolfsburg this season. Koen Casteels is Wolfsburg’s top goalkeeper, conceding 1.46 goals per 90 minutes with 5 clean sheets in 26 league appearances this season.
Wolfsburg not having to deal with Shakhtar supporters on the road is big if the German outfit is going to advance in the knockout rounds. However, Shakhtar has had the benefit of more competitive matches as the Ukrainian Premier League ended just a couple of weeks ago, while the Bundesliga ended in late June and Wolfsburg’s only had an exhibition game to shake off the rust and it wasn’t against a full team from Leipzig if we’re being honest. I think Donetsk just does enough to stave off Wolfsburg, so I’ll side with the draw as my prediction for this match.
Chris’s Pick Draw +260
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg