Preview

November 3, Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, 19:55

 

Before the match

 

Shakhtar got off to a good start in this Champions League campaign: Luis Castro's men defeated Real Madrid 3-2 away and then drew with Inter Milan 0-0 in Kyiv. The Miners are currently topping the table, their next opponents are Borussia Monchengladbach who also claimed points against the Madrid side and the Milanese alike.

 

The first Champions League games alternated with the Ukrainian league ones. On Friday, the Orange-and-Blacks thrashed Mariupol 4-1 (Taison netted a double, Sudakov and Patrick scored one goal each). In the previous meeting, Luis Castro had the opportunity to fully change the lineup and give rest to everyone who had previously taken part in three consecutive games.

 

On the matchday’s eve, Shakhtar traditionally held an open training session in Sviatoshyno, with Luis Castro and Maycon answering reporters’ questions. The team also tested negative for COVID-19. There are 23 players on the preliminary list for the game.

 

Shakhtar player list for the match against Monchengladbach

Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov, Anatolii Trubin, Oleksii Shevchenko

 

Defenders: Dodo, Serhii Bolbat, Sergii Kryvtsov, Valerii Bondar, Mykola Matviienko, David Khocholava, Viktor Korniienko, Marquinhos Cipriano

 

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Maycon, Viktor Kovalenko, Alan Patrick, Marcos Antonio, Marlos, Tete, Heorhii Sudakov, Taison, Manor Solomon, Vladyslav Vakula

 

Forward: Junior Moraes

 

Opponents

 

Borussia Monchengladbach are Germany's fourth representatives in the current Champions League edition. The club plays in the group stage for the third time in their history, with Shakhtar having their 15th group stage campaign. In the 2016/17 season, the Monchengladbach players got from their quartet to the Europa League knockout stages. In the Champions League, they never made it past the group stage, but this time they have started their journey quite successfully, drawing 2-2 with Inter and Real Madrid. In both matches they were in front, with the desired scoreline ultimately slipping away. Bensebaini scored against the Milan side from the spot and Hofmann netted one after a magnificent assist by Neuhaus. Thuram upset the Madrid outfit with a double, with Plea providing an assist in the first case, and in the second his effort was followed by a finish.

 

In the Bundesliga, Marco Rose's players suffered a round-1 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund, after which they have never lost this season: they drew at home vs Union and Wolfsburg (1-1), they also claimed away victories over Koln (3-1) and Mainz (3-2). This recent Saturday, the Gladbach team scored 3 points in the home match against Leipzig who are in the leading pack, currently being only 2 points adrift of their opponents; in the next round they will face another side - Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

 

The game against Leipzig saw the following composition: Sommer, Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi (Wendt 46’), Bensebaini, Neuhaus (Kramer 73’), Hofmann, Herrmann (Lazaro 80’), Wolf, Embolo (Thuram 73’) , Plea (Stindl 80’). The only and winning goal belongs to the talented Austrian Hannes Wolf who plays for the team this season. Leipzig took three times as many shots, but most of them went wide.