“From 45 to 55.” Former Shakhtar player evaluates miners’ chances in Marseille match

Today, Shakhtar’s opponent in the Europa League 1/8 final has been announced. It became the “Marseille” of the French.

Former Donetsk team player Oleg Shelaev He sees Marseille as the favorite in the fight against the Pitmen, but evaluates the advantage as low.

– Based on the various options available, I have classified this competitor in the second category. As a matter of fact, there were clubs among the most dangerous candidates for Shakhtar from the very beginning. There was also a third category, which included Toulouse and Karabakh, which were particularly less challenging. As for Marseille, in terms of the serious level of the French championship, this opponent is quite unfavorable. Moreover, Marseille will have a better chance, considering the fact that Shakhtar will have to play the French after the two-month winter break. True, I don’t rate his advantage that high – 55 to 45 percent.

– What do you know about Marseille in general?

– Currently, this team is next to the leading rival group in the French Championship standings, just four points behind the third place. Marseille was once a Champions League champion and had many famous stars in its squad. But France has a sufficient number of teams that have competed in the finals of European Cup tournaments over the years. In addition to Marseille, which won the most prestigious club competitions on the continent, other representatives of France competed in decisive matches for the honorary cup – Saint-Etienne, Bastia, Bordeaux, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain. … However, it is Marseille that is considered the most competent in French football in terms of efficiency in European competitions.