Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayer Leverkusen Tip

Tuesday night sees what could be the pivotal match in Group A as Shakhtar Donetsk host Bayer Leverkusen less than a fortnight after their first clash. The Germans won that game 4-0 and therefore look huge at best odds of 9/4 (Coral) to take the spoils again.

Furthermore, shot statistics suggest that the attacking superiority of the Bundesliga club is beyond question. Leverkusen have scored eight times in three fixtures and had 31 shots on target; that’s the same number as Real Madrid and more than Barcelona. Compare that to Shakhtar who have had a meagre 14 shots on target - the third worst record of the 32 teams in the group stages.

The Ukranians just aren’t the force they looked a year ago; this is borne out by the fact that they have already dropped more points in their relatively weak domestic league (13) than they did in the entirety of last season. A 2-0 defeat to Voleyn at the weekend won’t improve morale either.

In contrast, Leverkusen are third in the Bundesliga, just four points behind mighty Bayern Munich. You have to be a decent side to be in that position. Everything points to the away win for Sami Hyypia’s boys at pretty long odds.