Shakhtar Donetsk will be hoping to replicate their Matchday 1 heroics when Real Madrid visit Ukraine in the Champions League on Tuesday.
After racing into a 3-0 lead before half-time, Shakhtar survived a late scare to eventually secure a shock 3-2 victory over Los Blancos in Spain.
The Ukrainian side currently sit third in Group B – two points ahead of Inter Milan and three points shy of Real Madrid.
Having beaten Zinedine Zidane’s men on Matchday 1, Shakhtar claimed a goalless draw with Inter Milan a week later.
However, Shakhtar now head into Matchday 5 on the back of two heavy defeats to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Following a 6-0 thrashing on home soil, Shakhtar lost 4-0 to Gladbach in Germany last time out, despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and registering 13 shots (three on target.
Shakhtar are still unbeaten in the Ukrainian Premier League this season, with six wins and five draws keep them within three points of leaders Dynamo Kiev.
Still, they were made to work extremely hard for their victory over Dnipro on Saturday, with Tete scoring the only goal of the game on 88 minutes.
On the flip side, Real Madrid come into this match on the back of a shock 2-1 loss to Alaves, despite seeing 68% and racking up 20 shots (nine on target) on Saturday.
That was Los Blancos’ third league defeat in ten outings this term. They have also failed to win any of their previous three domestic games (two defeats, one draw).
But things have been going a lot better for Real in Europe. After losing to Shakhtar on Matchday 1, Zidane’s side haven’t tasted defeat in the Champions League.
Madrid drew 2-2 with Gladbach on Matchday 2, and have since secured back-to-back victories over Inter Milan.
However, Los Blancos still find themselves one point behind Gladbach in Group B, so their place in the Round of 16 is far from certain.
Head-to-head: As we know, Shakhtar beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the reverse fixture in October, with strikes from Tete and Manor Solomon, along with an own goal from Raphael Varane.
The two sides also faced each other in the 2015/16 edition of the Champions League. Real Madrid won 4-0 at home that year, before winning 4-3 in Ukraine.
Team news: Shakhtar’s squad was blighted by coronavirus issues the last time they faced Los Blancos, but the Ukrainians have most of their first-team regulars available this time around.
Real Madrid’s hefty injury list was lengthened at the weekend, with Eden Hazard joining Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Luka Jovic, Federico Valverde and Alvaro Odriozola on the sidelines.
Shakhtar secured a famous victory in the reverse fixture, but Real Madrid are expected to bounce back this time around.
Forebet predicts that Real Madrid will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory over Shakhtar on Tuesday.
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