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Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Basel will go head to head in the one-legged quarter-finals of UEFA Europa League on Tuesday night, set to take place at the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen.
Shakhtar Donetsk secured their place in the last eight following an emphatic 3-0 win over Wolfsburg in their Round-of-16 second leg tie on August 5.
Basel eliminated another German club from the competition as they edged past Eintracht Frankfurt in their Round-of-16 second leg tie, beating them 1-0 at home.
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The Ukrainian champions have been in fine form heading into the fixture and have scored 10 goals in their previous four Europa League fixtures.
Basel, who finished third in the Swiss league, too have been in impressive form in the competition and have scored eight goals in their last four games without conceding.
So it will be an entertaining contest to determine who will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Leverkusen in the semi-finals on Monday 17 August. There's no second leg available and thus both clubs will have to be at their best to secure a win here. On that note, let us take a look at what this do-or-die match has to offer.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Head-to-Head
The two sides have previously met three times in continental competitions, once in the erstwhile UEFA Intertoto Cup in the 1996-97 season and most recently in the 2008-09 Champions League group stage.
Shakhtar have never tasted defeat against their Swiss opponents, having drawn the Intertoto Cup fixture at 2-2 and humiliating Basel in the group-stage fixtures in 2008-09 with a 7-1 aggregate victory, with their most recent meeting ending in a 5-0 win for the Ukrainians.
The team crashed out of the competition that season in the Round of 16 and eventually went on to lift the Europa League trophy that season.
Shakhtar have never lost a quarter-final fixture in Europa League, while Basel have lost twice and won only one of their last eight fixtures in the competition.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Form Guide
Shakhtar Donetsk form: W-D-W-W-W-D
Basel form: W-D-D-D-W-D
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Team News
Shakhtar Donetsk Team News:
Shakhtar Donetsk have a fully fit squad heading into the fixture and, as per their latest training statement, only left-back Mykola Matviyenko trained separately from the squad.
Central defender Davit Khocholava was shown a straight red card in their win over Wolfsburg and will be suspended for the fixture. It is expected the 21-year-old Valeriy Bondar will take his place on Tuesday.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: Davit Khocholava
Basel Team News:
For Basel, three players will be on the sidelines due to injuries while they have one player suspended for the game. Jonas Omlin is currently nursing a knee injury, while on-loan midfielder Eric Ramires will be out due to an unspecified injury. Luca Zuffi will be absent on account of a knee injury.
Basel, like Shakhtar, will be without the services of a central defender as Eray Cömert picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign and will have to serve a one-match ban.
Injuries: Jonas Omlin (knee), Eric Ramires (unknown), Luca Zuffi (knee)
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: Eray Cömert
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Predicted XI
Shakhtar Donetsk Predicted XI (4-3-3): Andriy Pyatov; Dodô, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Mykola Matviyenko, Serhiy Bolbat; Marcos Antônio, Taras Stepanenko, Alan Patrick; Marlos, Júnior Moraes, Taison
Basel Predicted XI (): Đorđe Nikolić; Silvan Widmer, Jasper Van Der Werff, Omar Alderete, Raoul Petretta; Taulant Xhaka, Fabian Frei; Valentin Stocker, Samuele Campo, Afimico Pululu; Arthur Mendonça Cabral
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel Prediction
Shakhtar scored 100 goals in the 2019-20 campaign and it is clear to everyone that their attack, filled with Brazilian players, is their strength. They scored three goals in five minutes against Wolfsburg in their previous match to transform a game heading towards a stalemate into a spectacular victory.
Basel have one of the best defensive records of the teams remaining in the competition, having only conceded four goals in 10 games, keeping a clean sheet in their last five outings.
So it will be an interesting tussle in which each team will have to play to its own strengths. We expect the game to be a low-scoring one in which a lot of chances will be created but teams will struggle to break the deadlock. We favour Shakhtar to come out victorious in the fixture just because of their effectiveness in the final third.
Final Verdict: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Basel.
