Barcelona V Shakhtar Donetsk Preview: UEFA Super Cup

Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Friday 28 August 2009,

Stade Louis II - Monaco

Kick-Off: 20:45 CET

Barcelona

Pep Guardiola’s side Barcelona enter the UEFA Super Cup on a high after a 5-1 aggregate victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup.

New boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be hoping to find his way onto the scoresheet after his blockbuster transfer from Inter this summer saw him trade places with established goalscorer Samuel Eto’o.

Barca will have high expectations for the Swedish striker and a few goals early at his new home in Barcelona would help to settle the nerves and boost his confidence.

Lionel Messi has continued his good form over the summer and has been scoring at an astonishing pace in FC Barcelona’s friendly matches leading up to the La Liga start.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk were the surprise winners of the UEFA Cup last season. Their ability caught a number of quality clubs off guard en route to an impressive UEFA Cup title.

FC Shakhtar enter the match on good form having recently qualified for the group stage of the Europa League after a 5-0 aggregate victory over Sivasspor of Turkey.

The Ukrainian’s have a total of six Brazilians at their disposal, all of whom are very capable players and have shown their potency in last season’s run in the UEFA Cup. Jadson, in particular, has impressed and caught the eye of other European clubs in transfer speculation over the summer.

Willian may be used come off the bench to provide a kick in attack for Mircea Lucescu’s side, depending on how attacking-minded he wants Shakhtar to start the match against Barcelona.

Prediction

The teams met twice in last season's Champions League Group C. Barcelona defeated Shakhtar 2-1 in Donetsk, whilst the Ukranians were surprise victors over the Catalans 3-2 in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou.

However, the fixture was largely meaningless as Barcelona had already qualified as group winners and Shakhtar had failed to do so, and so Pep Guardiola was resting almost all of his starting players for the encounter.

Barcelona were worthy Champions League winners as they demolished opposing sides last season and cruised to an easy La Liga title. Their ceiling is undoubtedly higher than Shakhtar Donetsk’s, and if they come into the match with the right mindset, they should walk away winners.

Barcelona vs Shakhtar Prediction: Barcelona 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

For the complete preview with the best betting odds for the match, go to the Barcelona vs Shakhtar odds and preview page at Sports Betting Review now!