Shakhtar Donetsk general director Serhiy Palkin is convinced that the Ukrainian powerhouses have a chance of beating Inter in their upcoming Europa League semi final clash with them.
Inter and Shakhtar Donetsk are due to face off this coming Monday at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany and the winner of the one legged tie will face either Manchester United or Sevilla in the Europa League final on August 21.
Inter qualified for the Europa League semi final with a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Monday whilst Shakhtar Donetsk secured their place by smashing FC Basel 4-1 on Tuesday night.
“Experts say the Nerazzurri are the favourites to win the competition. They are a team led by Romelu Lukaku with substitutes like Alexis Sanchez and Christian Eriksen, they are a top team,” Palkin explained in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet Footballua.tv.
“On the eve of this match, our team will change something tactically. If we keep the integrity of the game and stay focused, then we have every chance of overcoming Inter.”
Inter and Shakhtar Donetsk have met twice previously. The sides met in the third qualifying round for the 2005/06 edition of the Champions League and Inter triumphed in the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Monday night’s match between the two sides is scheduled to kick-off at 21:00 local time.
