Manchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk Predictions

Manchester City haven’t quite assured themselves of qualification from Group C but a point here will be enough for them to book their place in the knockout stages. They were enjoying a perfect campaign until their last European fixture, when they had a bit of a meltdown, drawing 1-1 against Atalanta and finishing the game with defender, Kyle Walker, in goal after a red card for Claudio Bravo. 

This season, however, we’ve seen Man City respond well to a poor result and that could well be the case here as they look to take the pressure off their last game in the group. They come up against a good Shakhtar side, though, and it might not be the run-of-the-mill victory Man City fans have become accustomed to. 

Shakhtar Donetsk currently sit second in the group and know they need to keep picking up results. Dinamo Zagreb also have five points and are only kept in third due to the three goals Shakhtar scored in their last game. But getting a result from the Premier League champions is no easy task and Shakhtar will need to be in peak form to challenge City. 

We think this one will be a lot tighter than most would anticipate and we’re confident in predicting the 3.5 goal line won’t be beaten in this one. Man City don’t need a big result to secure qualification and Shakhtar will be looking to keep things tight. While Man City should have too much quality for their opponents, we can’t see this being a high-scoring affair.

We think Manchester City should score a couple of goals and have predicted a 2-0 win for the hosts in a result that gives them the qualification they seek without seeing them romp home. City have had 25 shots on target so far in the Champions League, scoring 11, and this kind of performance should give them a comfortable, if not commanding, win.