Shakhtar Donetsk – Panathinaikos

Ukrainian and Greek clubs will score at least three times combined

Certainly, the most notable confrontation in the third round of the Europa League qualification began a week ago in Athens. Shakhtar, as originally planned, took control of the ball, but chances were created at both ends. It's extremely surprising that the opponents made a total of twelve shots on target during the match, yet none resulted in a goal. The goalkeepers - Dragovski and Riznyk - played brilliantly. The return match is scheduled at the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland. A large number of Ukrainians living in Poland can provide effective support for their team. For example nearly thirteen thousand fans attended the match against Besiktas in the previous round of Europa League qualification. Thus, despite the neutral venue for the match, Shakhtar feels like a full-fledged host here. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 1.67 for their victory. In Krakow, Shakhtar will conclude the third round of Europa League qualification. In the first round, the Ukrainian team faced Finnish Ilves. There was no competition in this pairing. The miners finished the first match in their favour with a score of 6:0. The draw in the return match did not bother anyone at all. Shakhtar demonstrated a real spectacle in the confrontation with Besiktas, where the Europa League final will take place next May. The miners finished both matches against the Turkish club with a two-goal advantage - 4:2 and 2:0. For obvious reasons, the Ukrainian championship is not currently a priority tournament for Shakhtar. Last weekend, Arda Turan's team missed a victory there due to a goal from Lviv's Karpaty in the 90+1 minute - 3:3. Panathinaikos finished second in the last national championship, which is why they began their European cup journey in the Champions League. There, PAO lost in the very first round to Scottish Rangers. The Greek championship will only start in the third decade of August, so this season Panathinaikos has had no competitive practice. The pressure from the Brazilian attack will be too much for the guests to withstand, so they will be forced to attack themselves. Let's bet on the match having at least three goals.