Shakhtar Donetsk will host Stade Rennais at the Polish Army Stadium on Thursday (February 16) in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout playoffs. The hosts participated in the UEFA Champions League group stage earlier this season, where they started well, winning and drawing their first two games. Shakhtar, though, went winless in their next four to finish behind Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
Thursday’s game will mark Shakhtar’s return to competitive action after a three-month hiatus. Rennes, meanwhile, have endured a difficult run of results on the domestic stage recently and will hope for better luck in Europe. They went unbeaten in the group stage of the Europa League this season, winning thrice, to finish second.
The visitors made it to the last 16 of the Conference League last season.
Match Details:
- Match: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes
- Date: 16 February 2023
- Time: 11:15 pm
- Venue: Polish Army Stadium
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Prediction
Shakhtar have been out of competitive action since late November and struggled during their mid-season friendlies. They have, however, lost just one game at home this season.
Rennes, meanwhile, are on a run of back-to-back defeats, losing five of their last seven games across competitions. They have lost their last four away outings and could see defeat here.
Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Stade Rennais
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Head-To-Head
- Thursday’s game will mark just the second meeting between Shakhtar and Rennes.
- The first meeting was in the 2005-06 campaign in the Europa League, which Shakhtar won 1-0.
- Shakhtar have had 15 competitive meetings against French opposition, winning eight and losing four.
- Rennes have had seven competitive meetings against Ukrainian opposition, winning three and losing four.
- The Ligue 1 outfit are unbeaten in their three continental games away from home this season.
- The Hirnyky have picked up 21 points at home in the league this season, the highest in the Ukrainian top flight.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Live Stream Time
This match will start from 11:15 pm
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Date
This match will take place on 16 February 2023
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Team News
Zubkov will return from injury for Shakhtar to soften the blow of losing Mudryk, as the 26-year-old missed their final six games before the break.
Marian Shved and Viktor Korniienko will both miss out for Shakhtar though, through injury.
Sergiy Kryvtsov also left the club in January to go to MLS, so there could be a second debut for the club for recent recruit Yaroslav Rakitskiy in defence, after he controversially left for Russian side Zenit St Petersburg in 2019.
Martin Terrier will be a big miss in the Rennes ranks, as their key player remains out with a knee injury suffered against Nice at the start of the year.
Their replacement for the outgoing Kamaldeen Sulemana, Karl Toko Ekambi, could come back into the side after being benched for their loss at Toulouse.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Lineups
Shakhtar Donetsk:
Trubin; Bondar, Mykhaylychenko, Matviienko, Lucas Taylor; Stepanenko, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Kryskiv; Zubkov, Traore
Rennes:
Mandanda; Spence, Rodon, Theate, Truffert; Bourigeaud, Tait, Santamaria, Doku; Toko Ekambi, Gouiri
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Odds
We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 Rennes
Losing their talisman as well as playing their home matches in another country suggests that Shakhtar may find this assignment much tougher than they would have done in previous years.
Rennes are hopelessly out of form but do have plenty of players on the pitch who can make the difference and should have more than Shakhtar on the night.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Stats
- Shakhtar Donetsk 20.42%
- Rennes 57.87%
- Draw 21.7%
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Shakhtar
Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Over 2.5 goals (Eight of the visitors’ last ten games have produced more than 2.5 goals.)
Tip 3 – Both teams to score: Yes (Both teams have scored in seven of the hosts’ eight games.)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Betting Trends
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Rennes win with a probability of 57.87%. A draw has a probability of 21.7% and a win for Shakhtar Donetsk has a probability of 20.42%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rennes win is 1-2 with a probability of 9.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome are 0-1 (9.4%) and 0-2 (9.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline is 1-1 (10.12%), while for a Shakhtar Donetsk win it is 2-1 (5.46%).
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes Where To Watch Live UEFA Europa League Today Match
You can also live stream the UEFA Europa League 2023 on JioTV, Sony LIV App, and Airtel XStream on your mobile.