The Europa League moves to Germany this week as the final four in the competition will be decided. Two surprise packages in the competition meeting on Tuesday evening, with one of the sides able to progress through to the semi-finals and an opportunity at reaching the final of the Europa League this season.
Europa League Preview
Very few people could have foreseen these two sides reaching this stage of the competition, as they both faced a stern challenge in the previous round of the competition. Shakhtar were involved in one of the most bizarre second legs, as they looked to keep hold of the 2-1 advantage that they gained from the first leg against Wolfsburg.
There was a feeling that this tie still wasn’t over, and further doubt was cast on their chances after Davit Khocholava saw red with 23 minutes remaining. However, Wolfsburg also went down to ten three minutes later. Donetsk made Wolfsburg pay in the final stages of the match as they scored three goals after the 89th minute. Junior Moraes scored a brace in the victory, while Manor Solomon also found the back of the net.
FC Basel produced one of their best ever European performances in the first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt before lockdown. That success saw them go into their home leg against the German side with a 3-0 advantage. There was still a chance that Frankfurt may be able to turn the game around, as they have quality in their squad. However, any doubt of that happening seemed unlikely as the action got underway in Switzerland. Frankfurt enjoyed the possession, but they registered just one shot on target in the second leg. Fabian Frei scored the only goal of the game at St. Jakob-Park at Basel secured their place in the quarterfinals.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Team News
Shakhtar come into this fixture with a couple of injury concerns, as Maksym Malyshev and Goncalves dos Santos Ismaily will be missing. Meanwhile, Basel will be without Ramires, Kevin Bua and Luca Zuffi. Jonas Omlin is also a doubt.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Prediction
This could be one of the most difficult games to predict in this round of the Europa League, as a case could be made for Shakhtar and Basel winning this game. However, the preference would be for Basel, as they have shown in this competition already that their defensive game is solid.
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