Shakhtar Donetsk will be hoping to make home advantage count when they welcome Roma to the Metalist Stadium for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Wednesday.
Paulo Fonseca’s team won all three of their group stage matches in front of their own fans, despite being forced to play 150 miles away from their actual home ground due to conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Latest odds
Having come out on top in three of the four previous encounters between the sides, they are 29/20 (2.45) favourites with SportPesa to take the upper hand here.
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Meanwhile, the Giallorossi have won just one of their last 12 away games in this competition and it is little surprise that they can be backed at 41/20 (3.05) to emerge victorious from this one.
None of the hosts’ last 13 Champions League fixtures have resulted in draws, but you can get odds of 23/10 (3.30) on them being held to a stalemate on this occasion.
Team News
Aside from captain Darijo Srna’s suspension due to a failed drugs test, the Miners are at full strength for this clash.
Similarly, only the injured Rick Karsdorp and Maxime Gonalons are missing from Eusebio Di Francesco’s travelling squad.
Defensive Weakness
Although their poor European away record does not bode well for a difficult trip to Ukraine, Roma will at least back themselves to find the back of the net after scoring three times at Stamford Bridge in the group stages.
Indeed, Fonseca’s side conceded in each of their three home victories in the first round, and have kept just one clean sheet in 13 matches in this competition.
Preview and Predictions
Having scored 14 times in their last five Champions League matches in their own backyard, odds of 4/5 (1.80) look good on Shakhtar sharing the scoresheet for the fifth consecutive home game in this competition.
Both teams to score for a 2pt stake at 4/5 (1.80) with SportPesa 
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