Bet of the Day: All-square between Shakhtar and Roma in first-leg tie?
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It should be tense in Kharkiv
Shakhtar Donetsk take on Roma in the Champions League round of 16 tonight and both sides will fancy their chances of taking a lead into the second leg.
Shakthar beat Manchester City and Napoli at home in the group stages. However, they’ve only played one competitive game so far in 2018. They did win 5-0 against Chornomorets, but Roma will be a much bigger test.
The Italian side come into this one on the back of three straight wins. They’re currently third in Serie A and have only conceded 19 goals in 25 league games.
First legs are normally cagey and this one will be no exception. Shakthar have a great home record, while Roma have only lost two away games this season.
The Coral News Team expect both sides to be cautious here and their Bet of the Day is Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 3/1.
Goals on both sides
Shakthar will be wary of Roma’s away form and won’t want to give the visitors the chance to score a crucial away goal.
But they’ve struggled to keep clean sheets in Europe. As they’re usually so dominant in domestic competition, facing a quality team poses questions they rarely have to answer.
The Ukrainian champions have only kept one clean sheet in their last 12 Champions League outings.
Draw and Both Teams to Score is 13/4.
Dzeko’s the danger man
On his day, Edin Dzeko can be lethal in front of goal. He ran Chelsea ragged during Roma’s 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge during the group stage.
He then came close to signing for the Blues during the January transfer window. He ended up staying in Rome, which could be bad news for Shakhtar.
Dzeko is 9/2 to score first.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
