On the road to the semi-finals: AZ vs. Shakhtar Donetsk match prediction and preview
Гравці "Шахтаря" та АЗ / ФК "Шахтар"
Today, April 16, the second leg of the Conference League quarterfinals will take place in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, where Shakhtar Donetsk will face AZ Alkmaar. The first leg, played a week ago, ended 3-0 in favor of the Ukrainian team.
A three-goal lead is considered quite comfortable, so it’s logical that the Donetsk club is the favorite in this match. However, comebacks from three-goal defeats have occurred in football history. The most recent example was the match between Bodø-Glimt and Sporting, when the Portuguese team, after a 3-0 defeat in the first leg, won the return match 5-0.
At the same time, in Shakhtar’s European history there are no cases where, after a 3-0 victory, the team ended up losing on aggregate.
An additional motivation for Shakhtar is the opportunity to reach the European Cup semifinals. The last time the Miners reached this far was in the 2019-2020 season, when they lost to Inter Milan in the Europa League semifinals.
Bookmakers are giving a slight edge to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, who, incidentally, have already defeated Shakhtar twice in the 2004-2005 UEFA Cup. A high-scoring match is also expected, but the Ukrainian team is likely to advance.
Where to watch
The return match between AZ Alkmaar and Shakhtar kicks off at 7:45 PM Kyiv time. It will be broadcast on the MEGOGO platform, which holds the official rights to European Cup matches.
Also follow “Pryamy” on Facebook , X , Telegram and Instagram.