Bayern Munich's push towards the top eight of the UEFA Champions League continues on Tuesday against Shakhtar Donetsk at Schalke 04's VELTINS-Arena. The Ukrainian giants play their domestic home games in Lviv but have found a home in Germany for European encounters owing to Russia's ongoing conflict against Ukraine.
Hirnyky blew a 2-0 lead against PSV Eindhoven to lose 3-2 late on against the Dutch outfit while Marino Pusic's side are third in the domestic standings with a four-point deficit on Dynamo Kyiv. In Europe, Shakhtar have won three of their four most recent UCL games when playing as the home side with seven wins from eight back in Ukraine when at home.
Bayern saw off Heidenheim in the Bundesliga over the weekend after dropping out of the DFB Pokal to Bayer Leverkusen last week. Vincent Kompany's men lead the way in the German top flight with 33 points from a possible 39 and lead the way in attack as well as defense. A strong recent run has coincided with an upturn in Champions League form which included a win over Paris Saint-Germain but they are winless in five away games in Europe with four losses in that time.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, December 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: VELTINS-Arena - Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Shakhtar +2000; Draw +700; Bayern -700
League phase so far
The Ukrainian hosts are in 26th place with four points after five matchdays in Europe's premier competition, losing 3-2 against PSV Eindhoven on Nov. 27, while the Bavarians are in 13th place with nine points and beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 on Nov. 26. The Bavarians are just one point from eighth-placed Monaco, who occupy the final automatic qualification spot for the Champions League round of 16, and they are in fact just three points from third-placed Barcelona.
Team news
Shakhtar: Pedrinho and Pedro Henrique are both suspended while Dmytro Riznyk could have a four-man defense of Irakli Azarovi, Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar and Yukhym Konoplya in front of him for this one. Without Pedrinho, Oleksandr Zubkov, Danylo Sikan and Kevin will likely be the attacking unit selected by Pusic here.
Possible Shakhtar XI: Riznyk; Konoplia, Bondar, Matviyenko, Azarovi; Bondarenko, Kryskiv, Sudakov; Zubkov, Sikan, Kevin.
Bayern: Alphonso Davies, Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic and Manuel Neuer ae all out. Kompany may go with Sacha Boey, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Raphael Guerreiro at the back with Sven Ulreich in goal. Joao Palhinha, Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman ae all out so Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Thomas Muller should be in attack with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in midfield.
Possible Bayern XI: Neuer; Boey, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Sane; Muller.
Prediction
Even without Kane and a few other regulars, Bayern should win this one fairly easily and take another step towards the knockout phase against a Shakhtar team that is logically a fading force given its difficult current circumstances. Pick: Shakhtar 0, Bayern 3
