Lyon vs Shakhtar Donetsk Predictions

After opening up with a brilliant win away to Man City, could Lyon take up a dominant position in Group F? They have just recorded a huge win, and they’re hoping to kick on and claim another three points when they host Shakhtar Donetsk this week. While the visitors come into this game top of their domestic league, a shaky start against Hoffenheim in their opening match in the group has raised questions, and Lyon will be aiming to take advantage by claiming three points here.

The hosts did remarkably well to start with a win at the Premier League champions. That victory put Lyon top, with Hoffenheim and Shakhtar drawing 2-2 in Ukraine. All three of those sides would have be hoping to qualify alongside City when the draw was made, but now things are much more open. City look vulnerable after their defeat at the Etihad, while Lyon seem like a team to be feared. Will the Ligue 1 side build on their fantastic start, or are they set for another slip after drawing at the weekend?

The visitors are certainly going to be hopeful that their domestic record can carry over, given that they hammered Karpaty 6-1 at the weekend. That victory put them seven points clear at the summit of the Ukrainian Premier League, and the defending champions are looking good for yet another title. However, will they be able to match the run which took them to the Champions League last 16 in 2017/18? They qualified alongside City last year, but repeating that trick seems quite a bit tougher this time around.

Last season Shakhtar made it through, despite losing away to Napoli and City. They pulled off home wins over every side in the group, something which they’ve already missed out on this time. There’s a real difference between their home and away records in the Champions League, having 20 goals in their last eight home games in this competition. On the road, they’ve failed to score in seven of eight.

Shakhtar have also lost all of those outings, so Lyon are the firm favourites here. The Ligue side can build on their Eithad win against the out of form visitors. After all, the Ukrainians haven’t shown much of a scoring threat away in this competition, while Nabil Fekir and Moussa Dembele are a real threat going forward. That has us tipping a home win here, along with a 2-0 success for Lyon.