KAA Gent vs Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday 4 in Group H of the Europa League will see one of the top teams of this year’s competition. Indeed Shakhtar have been one of just three teams to win all three opening matches of the Europa League group stage—the other two are Zenit, and Schalke.
On paper, Gent vs Shakhtar Donetsk is the top match in Group H, as Shakhtar are first, with the Belgians on second spot. But Shakhtar absolutely crushed Gent on matchday 3, when the Ukrainians won the match 5-0 at the Arena Lviv.
Shakhtar’s new Portuguese head coach, Paulo Fonseca, has installed a new confidence in a side that had somewhat lost its ways in the last two seasons under Mircea Lucescu. Indeed, with the continued conflict in the Donbass, and with several top players leaving the club, Shakhtar appeared somewhat cautious in the last few months of Lucescu’s reign at the club.
The fire, however, is now back under the Portuguese coach, who has rekindled the flame in the squad without making any major additions in the summer break. Instead, Fonseca has steadily tweaked the team’s tactics, without moving away too much from Lucescu’s tempo football.
The biggest difference from Lucescu has been the fact that Fonseca likes to tweak with the forward lines, at times introducing young players who offer new tactical depth. One example would be the young Ukrainian striker Andriy Boryachuk.
Boryachuk was used by Fonseca on matchday 12 of the Ukrainian Premier League in a 3-0 win against Zirka Kropyvnytsky in a 4-3-3 formation that often looked like a 4-4-2 formation with the nominal number 10, Dentinho, acting as a second striker. At just 176cm Boryachuk is extremely mobile, and could often be found dropping deep to collect the ball (read the full profile of the striker right here).
Fonseca also likes it when his forward line rotates and, on the weekend, he fielded Facundo Ferreyra, as the natural striker ahead of an offensive midfield line that included Bernard, Dentinho, and Marlos, which often rotated positions. The result was another victory, and Shakhtar are cruising at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League table—they are six points ahead of Zorya Luhansk.
With Fonseca’s custom of frequently rotating his squad, it will be interesting to see who he will field on Thursday against Gent. With Boryachuk having come on late against Chornomorets on Saturday, it would not be surprising if Fonseca once again rotates his squad to give the young Ukrainian his first start in the Europa League.
Before the season kicked off, Futbolgrad predicted that Shakhtar would win their group and, at this point, regardless of Fonseca’s starting eleven on Thursday, we expect the Ukrainians to book their ticket for the round of 32 of the Europa League with a strong showing in Belgium.
Futbolgrad’s Prediction: KAA Gent vs Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3
Possible Line-ups
KAA Gent:
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Rinne – Mitrović, Asare, Nielsen – Saif, Renato Neto, Rabiu, Foket – Milicevic, Simon – Coulibaly
Manager: Hein Vanhaezebrouck
Shakhtar Donetsk:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Pyatov – Ismaily, Ordets, Kucher, Srna – Stepanenko, Fred – Taison (Bernard), Dentinho, Marlos – Boryachuk (Ferreyra)
Manager: Paulo Fonseca
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