Shakhtar Donetsk vs SK Poltava Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this mismatch. Shakhtar are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 24 points, while Poltava are propping up the whole league with just 6 points. It's a classic tale of two halves, this one.

Shakhtar's recent form has been a bit up and down, mind you. They've had some proper thumpings - 4-0 against Kudrivka and another 4-0 vs Ruh Lviv - but they've also had some shockers like that 1-4 beating at home to LNZ Cherkasy. Still, they just put Dynamo Kyiv to the sword 3-1, so they're clearly not mucking about when it matters.

Poltava, bless 'em, are having a right old time of it at the bottom. But here's the interesting bit - they've actually found the net in their last two games, drawing 2-2 with both Kryvbas and Kolos. That's not bad for a team that's supposed to be cannon fodder, is it? The problem is, they can't keep a clean sheet to save their lives - zero clean sheets in their last 10 matches. That's right, none. Nada. Zilch.

When you dig into the numbers, Shakhtar are scoring 1.8 goals per game but also letting in 1.1. At home, they're conceding in half their matches. Poltava are shipping 2.2 goals per game away from home, but they are managing to bag 1.33 on their travels.

The bookies have Shakhtar at 1.08 to win, which is about as exciting as watching paint dry. No value there whatsoever. But the both teams to score market at 2.75? Now that's got my attention. Shakhtar's attack will be firing, and let's be honest, Poltava's defence is about as solid as a chocolate teapot. But Poltava have shown they can score against better teams recently, and Shakhtar have been known to have a snooze at the back occasionally.