Both Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto will be bidding to make the perfect start to their 2023-24 Champions League group-stage campaigns when they lock horns in Hamburg on Tuesday night.
Both teams are top of their domestic divisions this season, with Shakhtar leading the Ukrainian top flight on 17 points, while Porto sit at the head of the Primeira Liga table on 13 points.
Match preview
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Shakhtar have been impressive in the early stages of the season, winning five and drawing two of their opening seven league matches, which has left them at the top of their division on 17 points.
The Donetsk outfit, who are the reigning Ukrainian champions, failed to make it out of the group stage of last season's Champions League, and they have not actually managed to progress to the knockout round of the competition since reaching the round of 16 in 2017-18.
Patrick van Leeuwen's side will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 victory over Obolon Kyiv in the league, but this will be their first Champions League fixture since losing 4-0 at RB Leipzig last November.
These two teams will be expecting to challenge for a top-two position, with Barcelona the favourites to claim first despite their recent European struggles, and Royal Antwerp very much seen as the underdogs.
Shakhtar's next game in the section is away to Antwerp at the start of October, so a positive result here would lead them nicely into their clash with the Belgian outfit.
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Porto, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 victory over Estrela on Friday, which moved them onto 13 points from their five league matches this season.
Sergio Conceicao's side top the Primeira Liga, one point ahead of second-placed Benfica, and they will be bidding to win their 31st top-flight title this term, reclaiming the trophy from Benfica in the process.
The Dragons reached the last-16 stage of the Champions League last season, losing to eventual finalists Inter Milan, while they were quarter-finalists in 2020-21.
Porto famously won the competition in 2004, but it would be a surprise to see them make a serious impression in this season's tournament.
These two teams have locked horns on four previous occasions in European football, and it is Porto that lead the head-to-head record, recording two wins and remaining unbeaten in the process.
Team News
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Shakhtar will be missing Mykola Matvienko, Valeriy Bondar and Lassina Traore for Tuesday's group-stage opener due to injury problems.
Oleksiy Kashchuk is the team's joint-leading goalscorer this season with three, and the 23-year-old is expected to operate in the final third of the field in this contest.
Danylo Sikan should also earn a start in an advanced area, while Taras Stepanenko and Oleksandr Zubkov are likely to feature as the midfield two in a 4-3-3 formation for the Ukrainian side.
As for Porto, Ivan Marcano, Marko Grujic, Gabriel Veron, Francisco Conceicao and Evanilson are on the sidelines for the European contest.
Marcano and Evanilson were both injured in Friday's league fixture, with the pair now unavailable, and their two replacements - Wendell and Mehdi Taremi - are in line for starts.
Toni Martinez, Pepe Aquino, Joao Mario and Stephen Eustaquio should also come into the side, having been left out of the XI in the league last time out, while Pepe should start in the middle of the defence.
Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:
Riznyk; Konoplya, Kozik, Rakitskyi, Azarovi; Stepanenko, Zubkov, Sudakov; Kryskiv, Kashchuk, Sikan
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Cardoso, Pepe, Wendell; Gonzalez, Eustaquio; Pepe, Franco, Martinez; Taremi
We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Porto
This is a really difficult match to call, especially as both sides have been in strong form this season. A draw would not be the worst result in the world for either team, and we are backing the points to be shared in Tuesday's Group H clash.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
