Former Shakhtar Donetsk striker Andriy Vorobey has revealed what he expects from his former team's match against Belgian Antwerp in the second round of the Champions League group stage.
Andrei Vorobey"To be honest, I don't have any special illusions about Shakhtar right now, as we need to soberly assess the current situation. It will be extremely difficult for the team to compete with Porto, not to mention Barcelona.
So, I think Shakhtar and Antwerp will fight for third place in the group. Everything will be decided in their head-to-head encounters. Now it is very important to concentrate on the upcoming game. Especially since Antwerp are not impressing with their results at the moment....
But I am worried about Shakhtar's performance. There were alarm bells before, and Vorskla managed to inflict the first defeat on van Leeuwen's team on the domestic arena.
Yes, we can say that a new coach has arrived, the game is being rebuilt... However, this requires time, which, unfortunately, the Donetsk side do not have. Therefore, the Orange-Blacks just need to work hard, otherwise the train may leave.
I believe that the factor of Shakhtar's recent failures is related to injuries to players in the central defence. Also, there are probably problems in the players' physical readiness - the team does not always look fresh.
I hope for a positive result in the match against Antwerp, although we must realise that the Pitmen are not doing well either. I have already talked about the defence, but the attacking line is not impressive either, which is quite alarming. However, Shakhtar players must realise that there is nowhere to retreat in the second round of the Champions League. This will probably be a key match in the fight to qualify from the group, so I believe in a 1-0 win for our Ukrainian team," Vorobey said.
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