Stade Louis II - Monaco
Kick-Off: 20:45 CET
Barcelona
Barcelona play in this competition after winning the Champions League last season. They are about to start their new campaign in La Liga on Monday evening and will be hard pressed to build on their success of last season when they won the treble. They have sold Eto'o in the Summer in a swap deal with Zlaten Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan.
Barcelona have already won their domestic Super Cup with a 5-1 aggregate win over Atletico Bilbao, winning both home and away. Lionel Messi has continued his good form over the summer and has been scoring at an astonishing pace in FC Barcelona’s friendly matches leading up to the La Liga start.
Barcelona do not have any real injury concerns for this match and it is clear from their coach Guardiola that they are fully focused on winning this match
Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar Donetsk will be disappointed that they will not be taking part in the Champions League this season after they were knocked out in the qualifying rounds but that will allow them to enter the Europa League and defend their crown.
Shakhtar sit in 2nd spot in the Ukranian league with their 3-1-0 record after 4 games. They have scored 10 goals in those games and only conceded 2. The Ukrainian’s have a total of six Brazilians at their disposal, all of whom are very capable players and have shown their potency in last season’s run in the UEFA Cup. Jadson, in particular, has impressed and caught the eye of other European clubs in transfer speculation over the summer
There are no new team news regarding Shakhtar. However it has been noted that their centre back Dmytro Chygrynskiy is close to signing for Barcelona so could be playing his farewell match tonight.
Head to Head
These 2 sides actually met in the Champions League last season at the Group Stage when both sides managed to win on the other's soil. Barcelona won 1-2 in Shakhtar while it was 2-3 to the Ukranians at the Nou Camp.
They also played 5 years ago when both sides managed to win their home games at the Group Stage of the Champions League
Prediction
Barcelona are the Champions of Europe but will be aware that these clubs have a poor record in the Super Cup with only 4 wins from the last 11. They have a very strong team but it will be interesting to see how Ibrahimovic does as the replacement for Eto'o.
Shakhtar should be in a decent physical shape after 8 competitive games and have provided Barcelona with problems in previous matches. They are a strong team although it was a surprise to see them knocked out of the Champions League before the Group Stages.
I think Barcelona were worthy Champions League winners as they demolished opposing sides last season and cruised to an easy La Liga title. Their ceiling is undoubtedly higher than Shakhtar Donetsk’s, and if they come into the match with the right mindset, they should walk away winners.
Other predictions today:
German Premier League:
Borussia M'gladbach - FSV Mainz 05
Home win
Holland First Division:
Roda JC - Vitesse
Home win
Bet@kickoff-Adassi
Bacelona - win
Borussia M'gladbach -win
Roda JC -win
Get a good return on investment.
