For Shakhtar, even victories over Antwerp and Porto do not guarantee access to the Champions League playoffs; Zorya can say goodbye to European competition on Thursday

There are two rounds left to play before the end of the group stage of the European Cups. Miner tomorrow in a nominally home match will play against AntwerpZarya will go to visit on Thursday Gento. Before the decisive matches of the stage, the miners retain their chances of getting into the playoffs of the Champions League and practically guaranteed themselves a spring round of European competition. Only a miracle can help Lugansk residents achieve their goal. We’ve sorted out all the options.

Shakhtar: bet to the maximum

The miners secured the playoffs of the European League by 99%. To achieve this, Marino Pusic’s team will only need to avoid losing to Antwerp tomorrow. And in general, to get a ticket to the spring round of the second most important European Cup, Shakhtar needs to score one point in the two remaining matches – home with Antwerp and away with Porto.

The worst-case scenario in which Shakhtar does not qualify for European competition is two defeats in the two remaining matches. Moreover, the Belgians must defeat the Donetsk team with a difference of two goals.

As for reaching the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, there are several scenarios. So far, Shakhtar is three points behind Barcelona and Porto. At the same time, Shakhtar played against the Catalans twice – 1:2 and 1:0. Lost heavily to the Portuguese – 1:4. On November 28, Porto and Barcelona will play each other. But even victories in the two remaining matches do not guarantee Shakhtar second place in the group.

Shakhtar’s victory over Antwerp

Porto will beat Barcelona. The situation in the group will be as follows: Porto – 12 points, Barcelona and Shakhtar – nine each. In this case, Shakhtar needs not only to beat Porto, but also:

• 1) hope that Barcelona will lose points in the final round in the match with Antwerp
• 2) beat Porto by three or more goals
• 3) win big in matches with Porto and Antwerp, increasing the goal difference, which is currently “-1” for Shakhtar and “+6” for Barcelona. At the same time, the Catalans scored 8 goals, the Miners – 6 (the next indicator)

Barcelona will beat Porto. The situation in the group will be as follows: Barcelona – 12 points, Porto and Shakhtar – nine each. In this case, Shakhtar needs to beat Porto big.

Barcelona and Porto will play a draw. The situation in the group will be as follows: Barcelona and Porto – 10 points each, Shakhtar – 9. In this case, the Miners need to defeat Porto in the last round. A draw can also “play”, provided that Barcelona loses to Antwerp, and Shakhtar “makes the difference” in a victorious match with the Belgians.

Shakhtar’s loss to Antwerp

Barcelona and Porto will play a draw. With this option, Shakhtar will lose its chances of reaching the Champions League playoffs: Barcelona and Porto will have 10 points each, and the Miners will have six left.

Barcelona will beat Porto. In this case, Barcelona will have 12 points before the last round, Porto will have nine, and Shakhtar will have six. In the final round, the Miners need to defeat the Portuguese with a difference of three or more goals.

Porto will beat Barcelona. In this case, Porto will have 12 points, Barcelona – nine, Shakhtar – six. In the last round, the Miners need to not only beat Porto big, but also hope that Barcelona loses to Antwerp.

Draw in the match Shakhtar – Antwerp

Barcelona will beat Porto. In this case, the situation will look like this: Barcelona – 12 points, Porto – nine points, Shakhtar – seven points. The Miners need to beat Porto to qualify for the Champions League playoffs.

Porto will beat Barcelona. With this option, Porto will have 12 points before the final round, Barcelona will have nine, and Shakhtar will have seven. The Miners will need to beat Porto big away and hope that Barcelona will lose points in the match with Antwerp.

Barcelona and Porto will play a draw. In this case, the disposition in the group will not change. Before the final round, Barcelona and Porto will have 10 points each, Shakhtar will have seven. This means that Shakhtar not only needs to beat Porto, but also:

• 1) win by three or more goals
• 2) hope that Barcelona will lose to Antwerp, and the Miners will be able to improve their goal difference in two matches

Zarya: only a miracle will help

Two defeats in key matches of the stage against Maccabi negated a successful start in the Conference League group – a draw with Ghent and a victory over Breidablik. Now the Luhansk team is six points behind Ghent and five points behind Maccabi. It is easy to calculate that a draw in the Maccabi – Ghent match in the last round deprives Zarya of a chance to qualify from the group, regardless of its results.

However, the official farewell to the European Cups for the Lugansk team could happen as early as this Thursday. Any result other than a victory over Ghent in the away match will leave the Lugansk club outside the playoffs.

As for the miracle that will help Zarya leave the group, these are two defeats in the two remaining matches of either Gent or Maccabi. The Belgians, as mentioned above, have a home match against Zorya and an away match against Maccabi. The Israelis will play away against Breidablik on November 30. If Gent or Maccabi score points on Thursday, Zorya will officially say goodbye to European competition this season.