MX23RW : Wednesday, November 27 03:11:11| >> :120:36787:36787:
[monks data]
Athletic Bilbao logo
Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 17, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Shakhtar Donetsk

0-0

FT

Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Sports Mole looks ahead to Athletic Bilbao's opening Champions League group-stage encounter against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

Champions League group football will be played at the new San Mames stadium for the first time on Wednesday evening when Athletic Bilbao host Shakhtar Donetsk.

On paper at least. it appears to be a daunting trip for the Ukrainian side because Bilbao have lost just one of their last 15 home European encounters, eight of which have been won.

However, the away side can take solace from the fact that they have won six of their last seven opening group fixtures in European competition.

In terms of team selection, Athletic head coach Ernesto Valverde has no major injury concerns. Mikel San Jose and Ibai Gomez were both on the bench for the weekend's trip to Barcelona, but they could return to the starting lineup for the visit of Shakhtar.

Aside from that, Aritz Aduriz is expected to be Athletic's main focal point in attack, with Iker Muniain offering support from a wide position.

As for Shakhtar, a number of the Brazilian contingent at Mircea Lucescu's disposal, including Alex Teixeira, Douglas Costa, Luiz Adriano and Taison, should all start.

Shakhtar have made eight previous trips to Spain, but have only won on two occasions.

Recent form

Athletic: DLWWL

Shakhtar: WWWDWW

Possible starting lineups

Athletic: Iraizoz; San Jose, Laporte, Gurpegi, Balenziaga; Iturraspe, Rico, Gomez; Susaeta, Muniain, Aduriz

Shakhtar: Kanibolotskiy; Srna, Ordets, Krivtsov, Azevedo; Stepanenko, Fernando; Taison, Teixeira, Costa; Adriano

Sports Mole says: 1-0


ID:176945: cacheID:176945:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4039:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Viktoria Plzen's Stanislav Tecl is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Shakhtar Donetsk during their Europa League match on February 20, 2014
Read Next:
Shakhtar held by Plzen
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Inter Milan541013
2Barcelona540112
3Liverpool440012
4Atalanta532011
5Arsenal531110
6B. Leverkusen531110
7Brest531110
8Monaco431010
9Sporting Lisbon531110
10Aston Villa43019
11Dortmund43019
12Bayern53029
13AC Milan53029
14Atletico53029
15Man City52218
16Juventus42117
17Lille42117
18Celtic42117
19Dinamo Zagreb42117
20Feyenoord52127
21Benfica42026
22Real Madrid42026
23Brugge42026
24PSV41215
25Stuttgart41124
26Sparta Prague51134
27PSG51134
28Shakhtar41124
29Girona41033
30Salzburg51043
31Bologna40131
32Sturm Graz40040
33RB Leipzig50050
34Red Star40040
35Slovan Bratislava50050
36Young Boys50050


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!