Both clubs lost their leaders
On Thursday, February 16, Shakhtar will play the first match of the Europa League play-off against Rennes. On the eve of the match, they assessed how the teams approached the first match for themselves in 2023 on the European arena.
Cremains
Miner. After the sale of Mikhail Mudrik to Chelsea, the total value of the Pitmen’s roster dropped significantly. Now Shakhtar’s roster does not even reach 80 million euros – 78.2 million.
Rennes. The French club also had a good winter transfer window – more on that below. At the same time, Shakhtar is four times superior in terms of the total cost of the squad – the French club’s roster is estimated at 319.5 million euros.
Transfers
Miner. The Pitmen made one of the most high-profile transfers in the history of Ukrainian football in this winter transfer window. Mikhail Mudrik moved to Chelsea for 100 million euros – 70 million one-time payment and another 30 million as a bonus. In Inter Miami, the Donetsk club released Sergey Kryvtsov. There were also enough acquisitions – the purchase of goalkeeper Dmitry Riznyk from Vorskla, the return of Yaroslav Rakitsky, transfers from Boston Riveva of the Venezuelan forward Kelsey from Saburtalo – the Georgian defender Gocholeishvili.
Rennes. The French club on the last day of the transfer window proved an unexpected deal. Rennes has sold 20-year-old Ghana winger Kamladin Suleman to Southampton for €25m. This transfer entered the top 5 in the history of Rennes and became the most expensive in the history of the English club. This transfer also looks unexpected because Sulemana was not a player in the starting XI of Rennes, despite participating in 20 matches. Ibrahim Salah was bought from Gent to replace him for 3 million euros, and Carl Ekabi was taken on loan from Lyon. True, perhaps now Rennes regretted the sale of Suleman.
Losses
Miner. The miners still cannot count on Maryan Shved, who has not played since the beginning of October. The midfielder is recovering from surgery. Participation in the match and Nazarina is questionable.
Rennes. The French team has a more serious loss. Since the beginning of January, the most expensive and most useful player in Rennes this season, Martin Terrier (22 matches, 12 goals and five assists), has been eliminated due to injury. Note that in his absence, Rennes lost five of the eight matches held in the championship and the Cup of the country. Also, defender Lorenz Assionon and Portuguese Sheka, who was not announced for the autumn part of European competitions, are unlikely to help Rennes. The participation of the Malian defender Hamari Traore in the match is questionable.
How they played in 2023-m
Miner. The Pitmen, preparing for the season, played only friendly matches. In Turkey, they managed to play five fights – a victory, three draws and a defeat. Shakhtar lost to Austria, having drawn with Koper, Ludogorets and Maribor, and already before flying to Warsaw they beat Sarajevo. The team’s top scorers are Bondarenko and Traore (three goals each).
Rennes. The French club has a more intense schedule of matches. Moreover, official. Rennes managed to play nine fights in a month and a half: seven in the championship, two in the Cup. He won four victories (3 – in the championship, one – in the Cup). In Ligue 1, Rennes beat Nice, PSG and Strasbourg, losing to Clermont, Lorient, Lille, Toulouse. In the Cup of Rennes, Bordeaux passed, but lost to Marseille. By the way, the French club is approaching the match with Shakhtar on a series of two defeats in a row.
How they played with each other
Shakhtar and Rennes previously met in European competition over 17 years ago. In the 2005/2006 season, the teams ended up in the same UEFA Cup group (then the group round was played in one round). Shakhtar won 1-0 away from Rennes thanks to Elano’s goal from the penalty spot. Shakhtar’s current football director Darijo Srna also played in that match.
The Pitmen finished the group stage in second place: then three clubs – Rapid, Shakhtar and Stuttgart – scored nine points each and advanced to the playoffs. Rennes in the group lost all four matches with a total score of 1:10.
How are they playing this season?
Miner. The miners are in second place in the standings of the championship of Ukraine, five points behind the leader – Dnipro-1 – with a game in reserve. In the Champions League, from which Shakhtar advanced to the playoffs of the Europa League, the Pitmen have a victory, three draws and two defeats. Shakhtar is 24th in the UEFA club rankings.
Rennes. So far, the team is in sixth place in the championship, gaining 40 points in 23 matches. Seven points separate Rennes from the Champions League zone, six from the Europa League, and 1 from the Conference League. In the Europa League this season, Rennes has three wins and three draws, which brought them second place in the group. Rennes is 36th in the UEFA rankings.
Where and when will they play
The Shakhtar vs Rennes match will take place on February 16 in Warsaw. The match between Shakhtar and Rennes in the playoffs of the Europa League will be hosted by the stadium of the Polish Army. The match starts at 19:45 Kyiv time. The second leg will take place on February 23 in Rennes.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
