Will the crisis-ridden BVB finally be able to celebrate their first win of the new year?
Niko Kovac is likely to still be in the pole position, although the former professional has already announced that he is not available as a stopgap until the summer.
On Wednesday evening, however, another stopgap will once again take over on an interim basis. After the 2-2 draw at the weekend against Werder Bremen, U19 coach Mike Tullberg will do everything he can to ensure that the tip on BVB pays off on the eighth Champions League match day between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Basically, the forecast for black and yellow is favorable before the duel between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk. On the one hand, due to the home advantage, which must be seen as a factor in connection with Borussia and especially in comparison to the away weakness. On the other hand, because the guests from Ukraine only have a mathematical chance of advancing, but not only need a high victory in the Signal-Iduna-Park, but also a lot of support in other places.
Meanwhile, for the Bundesliga club, which is currently in poor form, it is still a matter of reaching the top eight, although as 14th in the table, BVB would have to overtake more than a handful of teams to secure a direct ticket to the last sixteen. Nevertheless, every point is important in order to achieve the best possible position and to benefit from it as the season progresses.
Dortmund vs. Donetsk AI tip
In terms of the chances of victory, the assessment of artificial intelligence coincides with that of the bookmakers. Accordingly, no value can be found in the three-way market. Meanwhile, the Dortmund vs. Schachtjor Donezk AI forecast on Over 3.25 goals is more interesting. Here, a whopping 2.00 is offered at Bet365, which is recommended by the betting base AI lady in that “BETSiE”, with xG values of 2.44 and 0.95, expects a total of 3.39 goals in the game.
Dortmund – Statistics & current form
The 2025 football year could not have started worse for Borussia Dortmund. After five competitive games, the black and yellows are still waiting for their first three points. Even worse: four of the five matches mentioned were lost. It was only at the weekend that they managed to get a point again, a 2-2 draw at home against Werder Bremen. Despite a 2-0 lead and a respectable display of willpower while playing with ten men, the team from Westphalia missed a real breakthrough. Eleventh place with a six-point gap to the fourth-placed team is the sad reality at the national level.
If history repeats itself, Dortmund will win at home
In the premier class, however, last year’s finalist has so far presented itself well. However, after the bitter 1-2 defeat last Wednesday in Bologna, the team of coach Mike Tullberg, who will once again be able to give free rein to his strong emotions on the sidelines, no longer has it in his own hands to jump into the top eight. In order to at least put more pressure on the better-placed clubs and move up a place or two on the table, the forecast of a home win between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk must come true.
However, BVB are trading as clear favorites at the end of the league phase, not least because they have not lost two consecutive home CL games since 2017. After the 3-2 defeat to Barcelona on matchday six, success is now on the cards again. Especially considering that Peter Bosz is only one of the last ten (!) Dortmund coaches to lose his debut match for the club in the Champions League (6-3-1). With their own fans and the beloved floodlit atmosphere on a European Cup evening behind them, I have no doubt that the black and yellows will prevail confidently, despite the tense overall situation within the club.
However, if you think it’s too risky to place a handicap bet or double the score in favor of the home side, you can find strong odds between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk that Guirassy will score. The summer signing has scored seven goals and provided two assists in the current CL season and has scored at least once in all of his home games in the Champions League. If Guirassy scores the 1-0, you can get more than four times your stake back at Winamax.
Schachtjor Donezk – Statistics & current form
Hardly any club is harder to beat than Schachtjor Donezk in this Champions League phase. The very important opponent analysis at this level is made more difficult by the fact that only the Champions League matches are available as relevant game observation opportunities. The classic division into patterns with a differentiation between home and away games is also not possible because the Ukrainians actually play every match in a foreign stadium, completely eliminating the real home advantage.
Shakhtar need a miracle to advance
This is possibly one of the reasons why the Orange and Blacks are under pressure before the last matchday and, in 27th place in the table, have only a theoretical chance of reaching the playoffs. In addition to their own success at Signal-Iduna-Park, which would ideally be by a few goals, they would also need perfect results on many other pitches to somehow catch up with the three points and six goal deficit. Realistically, that’s not possible!
Nevertheless, you should not underestimate the team of coach Marino Pusic, because it is equipped with some highly talented individual players and has recently been able to achieve quite good results in the most important club competition in Europe. Last week, Stade Brest were beaten 2-0, and before that, Shakhtar led 2-0 in Eindhoven until the 86th minute, only to lose 2-3.
However, the team currently in third place in the Ukrainian Premyer Liga lost 1-5 against Bayern. They have also lost four of their last five away CL games. The Eastern Europeans have only won two consecutive Champions League titles in the last seven seasons. It would therefore be a huge surprise if the betting odds of 3.10 on the double chance X2 in the NEO.bet app were to materialize between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Dortmund – Shakhtar Donetsk direct comparison / H2H record
Four encounters stand between BVB and Shakhtar in the statistics. With three wins and a draw, Borussia clearly leads the direct comparison. In the Champions League, however, the Ukrainians have won two of their last three away appearances against Bundesliga clubs. Incidentally, Donetsk will play all of its CL home games in Gelsenkirchen in 2024/25.
Dortmund vs. Donetsk tip
Last season, the Champions League was BVB’s oasis of calm. Weak performances in the Bundesliga were regularly forgotten with great performances in the premier league. The divided management hopes for the same on Wednesday evenings. A home win against Donetsk would be of immense importance to at least calm the currently boiling black-yellow Ruhr area. Regardless of whether or not they manage to surprisingly reach the top eight.
I am convinced that this success will be achieved, and argue primarily with the home field advantage, the individual advantages and the course of the CL league phase so far. BVB has five points more on the account, scored twelve more goals and has never lost in four direct duels against the upcoming opponent.
Interim coach Tullberg will once again send Borussia onto the pitch with “drool in their mouths” and “knives between their teeth”, which is why my criteria for a Dortmund v Shakhtar Donetsk tip on HT1/FT1 are absolutely fulfilled.
