Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich will hope to push towards the Champions League's top eight on Tuesday when they face home team Shakhtar Donetsk at Veltins-Arena.
The Ukrainian hosts are in 26th place with four points after five matchdays in the Europe's premier competition, losing 3-2 against PSV Eindhoven on November 27, while the Bavarians are in 13th place with nine points and beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 on November 26.
Match preview
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Shakhtar have played their domestic home matches at Arena Lviv in the west of Ukraine, but due to the ongoing conflict in the region, they have played all of their home European games in Germany at Veltins-Arena.
Hirnyky will be concerned by their defeat against PSV considering they had taken a 2-0 lead after 37 minutes but conceded three goals between the 87th minute and the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Manager Marino Pusic's side are currently third in their domestic league with 33 points after 15 matches, four fewer than first-placed Dynamo Kyiv, but their record of 41 goals scored is the division's best return.
Pusic's team are in good form, as while they have won one, drawn one and lost one of their three most recent games, they did prevail in the prior five games.
Shakhtar's home record is also strong, with the club having triumphed in seven of their past eight home matches, and they have also won three of their four most recent Champions League fixtures when playing as the home team.
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As for their opponents, Bayern come into the clash having beaten Heidenheim 4-2 in the Bundesliga on December 7, a match in which they created seven big chances and accumulated 82% possession.
The win would have come as a welcome relief to Kompany, whose side were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal on December 3 when they lost 1-0 against Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.
The Bavarians are just one point from eighth-placed Monaco, who occupy the final automatic qualification spot for the Champions League's round of 16, and they are in fact just three points from third-placed Barcelona.
Bayern lead the way in the German top flight with 33 points after 13 matchweeks, and they are also the league's best offensive and defensive side having scored 41 goals and conceded on 11 occasions.
Kompany's win against Heidenheim was his first in his last three games, but the Belgian did oversee seven consecutive victories in his team's previous fixtures, a period in which they did not concede a single goal.
The visitors are unbeaten in their past four away games, winning three, but it should be noted that they have failed to triumph in any of their last five matches on the road in the Champions League, losing four times.
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Team News
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Shakhtar will be without both winger Pedrinho and left-back Pedro Henrique, who are suspended for Tuesday's game.
Goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk could be protected by a back four consisting of Irakli Azarovi, Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar and Yukhym Konoplia.
In light of Pedrinho's absence, Oleksandr Zubkov, Danylo Sikan and Kevin are likely to be selected to start in the forward line.
Meanwhile, Bayern will be unable to call upon a number of players, including defenders Alphonso Davies, Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic, as well as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Kompany may be forced to field a backline of Sacha Boey, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Raphael Guerreiro in front of Sven Ulreich.
Midfielder Joao Palhinha, as well as forwards Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman, will miss out, so expect to see an attack featuring Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Thomas Muller in front of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:
Riznyk; Konoplia, Bondar, Matviyenko, Azarovi; Bondarenko, Kryskiv, Sudakov; Zubkov, Sikan, Kevin
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Boey, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Sane; Muller
We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Bayern Munich
Bayern could take some time to settle into the game considering they have a number of injury absentees in their defence and attack, and it would be surprising if they managed to keep a clean sheet.
However, Shakhtar have proven to be defensively vulnerable in the Champions League, and it is difficult to see how they overcome the visitors' quality.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
