Shakhtarvs.Brest

The competition debutants remain unbeaten in Europe this season and are already assured of a spot in the knockout round, while Shakhtar need two wins to have any chance of progression.

Match preview

In what has been nothing short of a miraculous campaign so far, Brest, one of the smallest clubs in the French top flight, have taken the Champions League by storm this season.

Eric Roy's men have not even been able to play home fixtures at their usual ground, instead travelling to Guingamp, as their stadium did not meet UEFA's safety guidelines.

Despite that, Brest are one of six clubs tied on 13 points inside the top eight, and one more win should be enough to ensure they finish in an automatic last-16 place.

Winning is something the Pirates have gotten used to in recent weeks as well, after a somewhat indifferent start domestically, they have now won six of their last seven games across all competitions, including a 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven on matchday six, and two successes in the Coupe de France.

What makes that run even more impressive is the fact it came after a run of five defeats in seven games prior, and if they can claim another, then the fixture with Real Madrid next week could be an opportunity to relax and enjoy the moment.

This is the fourth time Brest have faced a team currently outside the top 24 in the league phase, and they have won the other three against Red Bull Salzburg, Sparta Prague and Sturm Graz.

History is also on the line, because Brest could become the first French club to win five matches in their debut Champions League season since Lyon did all the way back in 2000-01.

While recent form for Shakhtar Donetsk offers little for them to get excited about, their record against French clubs is equally worrying, winning none of their four clashes in the Champions League.

Ukraine's lengthy winter break will also do them no favours, because Shakhtar have not played competitively in over five weeks, since losing to Polissya Zhytomyr, which left them 10 points adrift of league leaders Dynamo Kyiv.

Shakhtar have arranged some friendlies in the meantime, beating Bulgarian giants Ludogorets and CSKA Sofia last week, but this will be a huge step up in both class and intensity.

With just four points from their six games so far, Marino Pusic's men need two wins to have any opportunity of breaking into the top 24, but with Borussia Dortmund away coming up on matchday eight, those chances appear slim.

A win over pointless Young Boys remains Shakhtar's solitary success on the continent so far, while they were also very fortunate to claim a point at Bologna on matchday one, but Pusic will look back on their late collapse at PSV as a turning point, when they lost after leading 2-0 with five minutes remaining.

Last time out, Shakhtar suffered a humbling 5-1 defeat here against Bayern Munich, the ninth time in the Champions League that they have conceded at least five goals in a game - two more than any other club.

Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League form:

D

L

L

W

L

L

Shakhtar Donetsk form (all competitions):

Brest Champions League form:

W

W

D

W

L

W

Brest form (all competitions):

W

W

L

W

W

W

Team News

Having not played a competitive game for over a month, the physical condition of the Shakhtar squad is not clear, but there are no new known injury setbacks facing Pusic ahead of this one.

Pedro Henrique is available again after serving a ban against Bayern, but Bartol Franjic has left the club after his loan deal ended at the start of the month.

Maycon has returned to the club briefly after three years on loan at Corinthians following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, but he is currently out and is unlikely to play for the club again.

On the contrary, Brest are without numerous first-team players, especially in defence, and that may restrict Roy from making as many changes as he has been accustomed to in Europe this season.

Jordan Amavi, Massadio Haidara, Bradley Locko, Soumaila Coulibaly and Julien Le Cardinal are all set to miss out, with the latter having not featured since scoring the winner in their matchday six win over PSV.

Jonas Martin's muscle injury means he is set to remain out, along with Karamoko Dembele, who himself is doubtful for this one with a similar issue.

Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:

Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Matviienko, Pedro Henrique; Marlon Gomes, Bondarenko, Sudakov; Zubkov, Sikan, Kevin

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Ndiaye, Fernandes; Del Castillo, Camara, Magnetti, Doumbia; Ajorque, Sima

We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Brest

Only Atalanta, Feyenoord and Liverpool have won more points away from home in the league phase than Brest, so travelling to some of Europe's elite has not been daunting at all, and they will be in an expectant mood in Germany.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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