Famous Ukrainian TV presenter Igor Tsyganik shared his prediction for the first leg of the Europa League play-offs between Shakhtar and Marseille.
Ігор Циганик"The Miners start their journey to the play-offs with a match against Marseille. This game will take place in Hamburg, Germany, where Shakhtar played all three home matches of the Champions League group stage.
"Marseille are not in the best of form at the moment. They are only eighth in Ligue 1, have failed to win five matches in a row, and have been eliminated from the French Cup. And in the last round of the championship, Marseille drew 1-1 at home with Metz, a team that had lost eight matches in a row before that. "Marseille played that match in the minority and spent a lot of energy.
As for me, Shakhtar have every opportunity to defeat such an unstable Marseille side. In addition, I do not sincerely believe in Gennaro Gattuso's coaching talent. He always starts off very well, but then he probably lacks the routine somewhere to achieve a certain result. All the teams that he left before, they looked much weaker after him.
Of course, I believe in Shakhtar. "The Miners are in good shape, they have played generally successful friendly matches and strengthened their squad. They have missed official matches, big football. I think this inspiration will allow them to play good football. As for my forecast, I am confident in Shakhtar's success in the first leg. I'll bet on their individual total to be over 1.5," Tsyganik said.
