Shakhtar Donetsk will face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League. Read our in depth article about this Champions League last 16 matchup.
FC Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
First leg: Donbass Arena, Donestk. Wednesday, February 13.
Second leg: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund. Tuesday, March 5.
Shaktar Donestk’s best ever Champions League run was emphatically ended when they came up against an imperious Barcelona and ran out 6-1 aggregate losers in the 2011 quarter finals, but they have emerged from a difficult Group E with credit this year.
The Ukrainian champions managed a draw away at Juventus and beat current holders Chelsea 2-1 in Donestk so Dortmund, the 1997 winners, won’t take anything for granted.
Dortmund also faced a tough struggle in Group D, with Spanish giants Real Madrid, big spending English champions Manchester City and Dutch legends Ajax all defeated to banish memories of their bottom-of-the-group nightmare last time out.
Dortmund have won the last two Bundesliga titles with an exciting young side and their manager Jurgen Klopp has now been linked with the Chelsea job. They’ve just welcomed back Nuri Sahin, who was such a hit in their 2011-12 Bundesliga-winning campaign. Klopp is one of those coaches without a stellar playing career behind him, but since taking over at Dortmund he’s lifted them back to the heights they enjoyed in the 1990s, winning last year’s title with a record points total and adding the German cup to bring the club its first ever double.
Shaktar’s domestic record is also strong, they’ve won seven top division title since the turn of the century and with a 13 point lead look on the way to another. Ukrainian football isn’t as strong as Germany’s of course, but the gap between the two is shrinking. Romanian Manager, Mircea Lucescu, who won the club’s first European honour with 2009’s UEFA Cup triumph, has built an exciting side, with Brazilian stars Willian and Fernandinho at its heart. He’s so popular in his adopted home that he’s been made an honorary citizen of Donestk and has been offered the national side’s coaching job.
The two sides have only met once, back in 2001 when both were trying to qualify for the Champions League group stages. Dortmund were easy 5-1 winners. A lot has changed in the east since then, but Shaktar still have an enviable stability, nine of the players who won the UEFA Cup are still at the club.
With Klopp admitting that the German title is beyond his side this term, his team can go all out for the Champions League run many experts predicted for them in 2011-12. Their Polish players will want a good result in Ukraine to prepare for a World Cup qualifier against their recent European Championships co-hosts in March.
Head to head
Shaktar Donestk
League position on February 4
First
Last five games
W, W, W, W, L
Odds
32/21
Borussia Dortmund
League position on february 4
Second
Last five games
W, W, W, L, D
Odds
31/16
Odds on draw
38/15
Check out the other Champions League last 16 matchups :
Real Madrid CF v Manchester United
Galatasaray A.S. v FC Schalke 04
Celtic Glasgow vs Juventus
Valencia CF vs Paris Saint-Germain
Arsenal FC – FC Bayern München
FC Porto v Málaga CF
AC Milan v FC Barcelona