Real Madrid will travel to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk at the Kiev Olympic Stadium in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
We look at the stats to predict the match.
Shakhtar Donetsk have had a poor start to their UCL campaign sitting at the bottom of the table. They are yet to register a win and have just got one point from two matches. Roberto de Zarbi and his men have got an uphill battle in front of them and certainly facing Real Madrid does not make their situation any better. However, they can expect a slight home advantage on Tuesday.
The Ukraine based side are yet to score a single goal so far while they have conceded twice this season. They come into the match on the back of a draw from Inter Milan which is bound to give them some sense of confidence. However, the only way to change their performance is to start scoring goals.
The above viz shows that Shakhtar clearly dominated most of the attacking metrics in the game against Inter. They failed to get themselves on the score sheet but their performance was very appreciable at the least. de Zarbi’ men would certainly hope to score against Real Madrid and with a strong defence they can keep Madrid at bay, given the fact Real have struggled to find ways of scoring goals and Shakhtar have defeated them last season in the UCL.
Real Madrid have a great start to a new life under manager Carlo Ancelotti. They are on a great run of form in the La Liga with Karim Benzema in the form of his life. Surprisingly enough, Los Blancos have failed to replicate their domestic form on the European stage sitting on second in the group with one win and one loss. They have lost their last match to Sheriff at home and would certainly aim to change the narrative at Ukraine.
The Spaniards have scored twice and conceded twice so far. Benzema and Rodrygo have got their names on the score sheet while Vinicius has been the most lively performer for them.
Real Madrid have really struggled to open up defences in the UCL like they have been doing in the domestic platform. The above image shows the xT timeline from their match against Sheriff. It clearly shows the sheer dominance Madrid possessed on the ball throughout the match but were unable to create any open chances. They have been vulnerable at the back as well getting beaten by Sheriff twice and also many times against Inter where Courtois had to save them time and again. If this prevails, Shakhtar Donetsk can very well hurt them again.
Karim Benzema is in a surreal form and will be a huge threat but overreliance on him to score goals can cost Real Madrid valuable points.
Real Madrid predicted lineup : Courtois, Vazquez, Vallejo, Nacho, Alaba, Valverde, Casemiro, Kroos, Vinicius, Benzema, Rodrygo
