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This is a duel in the first round of the Champions League and it is a fairly balanced group. Manhester City is the favourite but Shakhtar and Hoffenheim are aiming for at least the second place, and there is also the team of Lyon. Shakhtar dominates the Ukrainian championship at the beginning of the season, and they are in the first place with only one defeat, while Hoffenheim did not start well and they have lost two times in the first three rounds. This will be the first mutual duel between Shakhtar and Hoffenheim.

Shakhtar Donetsk

As for the team of Shakhtar, the most important thing for them lately is that their opponent is not Dynamo from Kiev. In the last ten matches they were defeated three times and each time by their biggest Ukrainian rival. The first defeat they experienced was in the finish of last season, then they were defeated by Dynamo in the Super Cup at the start of the new season, and then in the third round of the new championship.

Shakhtar has without any problems performed against other rivals and in the championship they already have seven wins, which holds them in the first place with five points more than second ranked team. This means that the departures of players like Fred, Ferreyre and Bernard is not felt in their game for now, and some reinforcements have already proven themselves like striker Moraes who scored seven goals. Coach Fonseca has no major problems with absences and only center-back Ordets is suspended for this match.

Probable lineups Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov – Butko, Kryvtsov, Rakytsky, Ismaily – Marlos, Patrick, Stepanenko, Bolbat – Taison, Moraes

Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim has had a modest start in the new season, though their only bad result is the one from Saturday's duel against Fortuna in Dusseldorf. In the Cup they routinely celebrated against K’lautern, and their first round of championships has brought them a hosting against Bayern, where they could not count on the points. In the second round they welcomed Freiburg and they justified the role of favourites by winning with 3-1. In the third round, they played against Fortuna and it was a good opportunity for the first points, however, they have lost that match in the interesting finish with 2-1.

They managed to equalize thanks to a goal by Nelson four minutes before the end, but two minutes after that, they received a new goal from the penalty. Coach Nagelsmann is having a lot of problems with injuries, and so against Freiburg, he could not count on Bicakcic and Adams, and they also did not perform in Dusseldorf, while Akpogume and B. Hubnero are absent from before. Demirbay, Nad.Amiri, Geiger and Rupp are missing in midfield. A few more players are questionable, but some have to play a debut in the group stage of the Champions League.

Probable lineups 1899 Hoffenheim: Baumann – Bicakcic, Vogt, Akpoguma – Kaderabek, Grillitsch, N.Schulz – Bittencourt, Grifo – Kramaric, Belfodil

Verdict

Shakhtar is much more experienced when it comes to playing the Champions League and playing in front of their supporters, so we give them absolute advantage over Hoffenheim, for which this is the first match in the group stage of the Champions League, and it is important to say that they have major injury problems.

Pick: Shakhtar Donetsk wins 1.99 - 99/100 @1XBet