After a 5-0 defeat to Barcelona in their opening game of the Champions League campaign, Royal Antwerp face another tough test against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night.

Shakhtar also suffered defeat in their opening Group H game to FC Porto, which took place in Hamburg, but with a number of first-team players returning, the Ukrainian outfit will fancy their chances of getting a result at the Bosuilstadion this week.

Antwerp are 4/5 favourites to claim the three points on home soil, with Shakhtar at 16/5 to come away with the spoils.

Team news:

Antwerp have a host of injury problems, especially in defence as they prepare to host Shakhtar. Samuel Vines, Bjorn Engels, Ritchie De Laet and Kobe Corbaine are all out injured for the hosts, leaving manager Mark van Bommel with limited options at the back.

Midfielder Arthur Vermeeren appears to be the next big thing at Antwerp, with the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona believed to be keeping an eye on the 18-year-old starlet.

As for Shakhtar, Israeli centre-back Stav Lemkin is out after picking up an injury against Porto in Germany.

Striker Lassina Traore is also out with a tendon issue, which is a blow for the visitors, however, they should be boosted by the return of Mykola Matvienko from his recent Achilles injury.

Tanzanian defender Novatus Miroshi might be forced to drop out of the starting lineup with Matvienko’s return, while Yaroslav Rakitskyi is an option to replace fellow veteran Dmytro Chygrynskyi.

Match Odds:

It is the Belgian team who come into the game on Wednesday evening as the betting favourites, with 4/5 the price for an Antwerp win with Shakhtar having odds of 16/5 to win at the Bosuilstadion. The draw is available to back at 11/4.

The traders lean towards goals but it is only a slight one with 8/11 the price for over 2.5 goals with the BTTS ‘Yes’ market 4/6.

In the Correct Score market both the 1-1 draw and the 1-0 home win can be backed at 13/2 and are the joint-favourites. As we like the away win and under 2.5 goals, that leaves 0-1 and 0-2 as our top scorelines and they can be backed at 12/1 and 22/1 respectively.

Shakhtar Donetsk to win @ 16/5

Goals have been the real issue for Antwerp in recent weeks and is the reason why Shakhtar offer great value at 16/5 for an away victory here.

After losing 5-0 to the Blaugrana in their Champions League opener, Antwerp have failed to score in any of their following three games in the Belgian top-flight.

Shakhtar have not been consistent of late, but with key players rested over the weekend they look to have been really targeting three points on the road here.

Under 2.5 total goals @ Evens

With Antwerp failing to score in their last four games in all competitions, it’s hard to see this one being a high-scoring affair on Wednesday night.

If Shakhtar do come out on top, it might well be a 1-0 or 2-0 scoreline, which as mentioned in our Match Odds section, are available at 12/1 and 22/1 respectively in the Correct Score market.

As a slightly more conservative selection, we’ve gone with under 2.5 total goals on the night which comes in at 1/1 here.