Juventus vs Shakhtar: preview
The Italian champions will be further buoyed by their comeback from 2-0 down to earn a draw at holders
Chelsea FC on matchday one, while Shakhtar took the early initiative in Group E with a 2-0 home defeat of FC Nordsjælland.
Match officials
Referee Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant referees Rob van de Ven (NED), Angelo Boonman (NED)
Additional assistant referees Pol van Boekel (NED), Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth official Patrick Langkamp (NED) UEFA Delegate Pat Quigley (IRL)
UEFA Referee observer Hugh Dallas (SCO)
Personnel
Unavailable: Juventus - Pepe, Padoin
Shakhtar - Kryvtsov, Polyanskiy, Douglas Costa, Dentinho.
Suspended:
Juventus manager Antonio Conte (duties provisionally performed by assistant Massimo Carrera). Quotes FC Shakhtar head coach Mircea Lucescu: - Now the Turin team are the same as they were many years ago – one of the strongest teams in Europe from all points of view.
They know perfectly well both strong and weak points. We and they are strong, so the upcoming match will be very difficult for both teams. I hope that tomorrow will be a good game and there won’t be such problems as in last year's game with Porto. Hopefully, the crowd won’t affect the referee.
Shakhtar midfielder Fernandinho: - We are ready for the game against Juventus. Pirlo? Is a very skilled player, who performs at top level. I hope I will be able to stop him tomorrow. Classy players can always cause problems. I think we will play well and show our best qualities. Shakhtar defender Razvan Rat: - I have already said that the victory over Nordsjælland is just the beginning of the tournament. For us it is very important to take all three points. But the conclusions regarding the first place in the group can only be made after six rounds.
Shakhtar forward Eduardo: - We have watched a few matches played by Juventus in Serie A, and there is no doubt that this is the strongest team in Italy. They are very organized and strong physically. A lot of matches in a row have seen Juventus remain undefeated. We could say that they are favourites in our game. But I think we can surprise them. Juventus assistant manager
Massimo Carrera: - We’ll have a difficult match. We know that our opponent shows good football. Shakhtar’s players are very technical, and their coach knows well the Italian championship. Also, there are many top Brazilian players in their squad. Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini: - This match will be very decisive. We respect Shakhtar. This is a strong team. It has been playing in the Champions League for many years. They have a lot of experience, which many of our players don’t have. So we do not consider ourselves as clear favourites.
Sides’ previous meeting:
1976/77 UEFA Cup. Last 16. Return leg 8 December 1976. Donetsk. CS Shakhtar. Att: 38,000 Shakhtar (Donetsk, Ukraine) 1-0 Juventus (Turin, Italy) Goal: Shevlyuk (35) Shakhtar: Degterev, Yaremchenko, Rudakov, Kondratov, Pyanykh, Shevlyuk, Vasin (Rogovskiy, 46), Sokolovskiy (Dudinskiy, 68), Starukhin, Reznik, Safonov. Coach: Vladimir Salkov Juventus: Zoff, Cuccureddu, Spinosi, Furino, Morini, Shirea, Causio, Tardelli, Boninsegna, Benetti, Bettega Coach: Giovanni Trapattoni Bookings: Starukhin (39), Causio (56), Boninsegna (77)
