Preview

August 14, Kraków, Stadion Miejski im. Henryka Reymana, 21:00

Broadcast in Ukraine will be available on UPL.TV
Broadcast abroad: Türkiye, Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, the United Kingdom, Brazil

Match build-up

The first meeting between the teams in Athens a week ago ended in a goalless draw – 0-0. The game began with the Miners on the front foot, creating several dangerous chances, but the home side’s goalkeeper dealt with efforts from Alisson and Newertton. The Greeks responded late in the half, when Riznyk had to come to the rescue after shots from Pellistri and Tete. In the second half, Kaua Elias and Eguinaldo had opportunities to score, while Riznyk again denied Zaroury and Swiderski, and in the closing minutes Shved and Newertton could have secured the win, but failed to convert their chances.

Between the two fixtures against the Greek vice-champions, Shakhtar played a Ukrainian League match against Karpaty, which ended in a spectacular draw (3-3). That game saw goals from Newertton, Kaua Elias and Alisson. In addition to a demanding match schedule and constant travel, Arda Turan’s side face squad problems ahead of the encounter in Kraków: today the Orange-and-Blacks will be unable to count on Kryskiv, Traore, Eguinaldo, Kevin, Pedrinho and Sudakov for various reasons.

Opponents

Panathinaikos, on the other hand, are focused solely on their European campaign – the Greek Super League 1 does not kick off until late August, so the Athenians have spent the past week preparing specifically for the second match against Shakhtar. The Shamrock’s head coach Rui Vitória noted at the pre-match press conference that captain and attacking leader Fotis Ioannidis has recovered from injury and has been training with the team for several days, although it is not certain that he will play. The participation of midfielder Tasos Bakasetas is also in doubt. All other players are preparing for the match.

Stadium

Shakhtar are playing their home matches of the 2025/26 European campaign at the Stadion Miejski im. Henryka Reymana in Kraków, which was opened in 1953 and most recently renovated in 2022–2023. It has a capacity of 33,326 and meets UEFA Category 4 standards. The Miners defeated Turkish Beşiktaş (2-0) in the first match at this venue two weeks ago.

The Shakhtar vs Panathinaikos match will be officiated by the judging panel from Germany: referee – Daniel Siebert, assistants – Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn, VAR – Christian Dingert.