Preview

February 16, Warsaw, Stadion Miejski Legii Warszawa im. Marszałka J. Piłsudskiego, 19:45
Live broadcast will be available on Megogo

Match build-up

Shakhtar start their Europa League campaign, having qualified for the tournament after successful performance in the Champions League group stage in the autumn. It will be the first competitive match for the Miners in the last almost 3 months – Igor Jovicevic’s side conducted the training camp in Turkey during the long winter break, playing 5 friendlies (1 win, 3 draws, 1 loss). There were some changes in the squad of the Pitmen during this period: attacking leader Mykhailo Mudryk moved to Chelsea setting a new transfer record, however goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk, defenders Yaroslav Rakitskyi and Giorgi Gocholeishvili, as well as forward Kevin Kelsy, joined the Orange-and-Blacks.

Opponents

Rennes started the European season in the Europa League group stage, gaining 12 points and taking the second spot in the quartet with Fenerbahce, Cypriot AEL, and Dynamo Kyiv. By the way, the French beat the Kyiv team twice (2-1, 1-0). The Red-and-Blacks are in the 6th spot in the table of the French Ligue 1 with 40 points after 23 rounds (goal difference: 42-28). After victory over PSG (1-0) in the middle of January, Bruno Genesio’s men are currently going through a slump: only 1 win and 4 losses in the previous 5 matches. They lost to Toulouse (1-3) in the meeting on February 12.

One of the reasons for recent misfortunes of Rennes has been injuries to several key players. Thus, main right-back Hamari Traore and his second-stringer Lorenz Assignon, midfielder Xeka and left winger Martin Terrier, who is the most prolific player in this season (12 goals and 5 assists), will skip the match against Shakhtar. Forward Amine Gouiri (11 goals, 5 assists) is not far behind the Frenchman and right winger Benjamin Bourigeaud is the best assistant (4 goals, 8 assists). 56-year-old Bruno Genesio is the manager of Rennes. He was recognized as the Coach of the Year in France according to the previous season results.

Match background

Shakhtar and Rennes met only once in the European competitions – in the 2006/06 UEFA Cup group stage. The format of that season involved one match between the teams. The opponents met at the Roazhon Park on December 1, 2005. The only goal was scored by Elano in the 38th minute, bringing a minimal victory to the Miners – 1-0. The Pitmen advance to play-offs and the French team ended the tournament in the last spot in the group.

Shakhtar vs Rennes match will be officiated by the judging panel from Bosnia and Herzegovina headed by Irfan Peljto.