Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Champions League match.
In the first three rounds of the Champions League group stage, both Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys have failed to score a single goal. Both teams are deservedly rooted at the bottom of the table, but they see this face-off as an opportunity to climb higher – a task complicated by their poor finishing.
Shakhtar Donetsk
It's evident that Shakhtar Donetsk have been unlucky with a tough fixture list in the early stages of the Champions League. While they might have snatched a victory against Bologna (0:0), they stood little chance against Atalanta (0:3) and Arsenal (0:1). At the Emirates, Shakhtar Donetsk only managed an xG of 0.67 with a single shot on target. Despite this, the coaching staff continues to rely on a single defensive midfielder formation (4-1-4-1), which hasn’t been as effective in Europe as it has domestically.
Young Boys
Ahead of their trip to Gelsenkirchen, Young Boys are one of six Champions League teams yet to earn a point from their first three matches. They likely struggle to reset due to a series of injuries to key players, including Mohamed Camara, Abdu Conté, Saidy Janko, Patric Pfeiffer, and Tanguy Zoukrou, who remain sidelined. Despite their attacking inactivity (only two shots on target), Young Boys were close to snatching a draw with Inter Milan (0:1), conceding the sole goal during injury time.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Young Boys Prediction
In the summer of 2016, Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys faced each other in two Champions League qualification matches and couldn't score more than two goals in regular time (2:0 and 0:3 after a penalty shootout). It’s likely these two underdogs will once again offer a lacklustre performance in the opponent’s half.
