“The specialist spoke about the future opponent of the “pirates”.”, — write: champions.football.ua
The specialist spoke about the future opponent of the “pirates”.
Shakhtar — Brest. Announcement and forecast for the Champions League match on January 22, 2025
The specialist shared his opinion regarding Shakhtar’s lack of official meetings since mid-December, and also answered whether a neutral field could affect today’s result.
“We play for victory in every match, and today we will also make every effort to do so. Ahead of us are meetings with teams that regularly play in the Champions League, and Shakhtar has a lot of experience playing at this level. We will strive to achieve a favorable result for ourselves, despite that we have already secured participation in the next round of the competition, but we want more. This is not an easy task, because even in case of victory, we will not have guarantees that we will remain in the top eight.
Shakhtar’s ability to operate at high speeds? I haven’t seen them cause any major problems, but Shakhtar are definitely a strong team with a great midfield and attack. They have powerful performers in their lineup, for example, Kevin is a very talented Brazilian player, as well as many Ukrainians who play for the national team. They have an interesting combination of experience and talent. However, we also have football players with great potential. Shakhtar is a serious opponent and we will have a difficult meeting, like any game in the Champions League. It is obvious that the match will take place at high speeds. For example, Kevin and Zubkov are capable of creating a lot of chances for their team, so we will need to do our best to counter them.
Meeting of Shakhtar in Turkey? There are teams that are tired because of a large number of games, and there are those that do not feel tired because of not enough matches. We are ready for any scenario and have prepared well for this matchup since our last game. I know that Shakhtar held several sparring sessions with positive results, and today’s match will show the real state of both teams. We need to focus on our game, stick to the plan and perform at a high level to achieve the desired result.
I do not think that a neutral field can affect the outcome of the meeting. Of course, we are aware of how difficult the situation in Ukraine is, we discussed it with the players. Shakhtar has been forced to play away from home for several years due to extremely difficult circumstances. We should admire what they achieve under such conditions, and our focus should remain on the sporting component. It is difficult to find the right words when talking about what is happening in Ukraine, but all of us – players, coaches and team – have a lot of respect for Shakhtar. We’re going to have an exciting game today, I can guarantee that,” said Rua.
As a reminder, the match between Shakhtar and Brest will start today, January 22, at 19:45 Kyiv time. Arena Auf Schalke in Gelsenkirchen hosts the Eurocup meeting with the participation of Donetsk nationals. Swiss referee Sandro Scherer will judge the teams.
After six played matches of the updated Champions League, Shakhtar is 28th in the standings with four points, while Brest is in ninth place with 13.