Besiktas vs Shakhtar Donetsk Prediction & Tips
Beşiktaş can hardly call last season a success. For most of the Turkish Super League, the ‘Eagles’ were in mid-table, but the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as head coach saved the campaign. Under the Norwegian, Beşiktaş lost only six games in all competitions and eventually finished fourth.
Shakhtar, who have dominated the Ukrainian Premier League for the last 15 years, had a season to forget. The Donetsk side finished third for the first time in a long time, behind Aleksandriya and Dynamo Kyiv. However, Shakhtar won the Ukrainian Cup, which allowed them to qualify for the Europa League.
The new season started under the management of former Atlético and Barcelona player Arda Turan, who previously enjoyed success as coach of Eyüpspor. Unlike Beşiktaş, the ‘miners’ had to play in the first round of the Europa League qualifiers against Finnish minnows Ilves. In the first match, Shakhtar thrashed the ‘lynx’ 6-0, and in the second leg, with an experimental eleven, they drew 0-0.
