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Celts to Shake Donetsk in Warsaw

Discussion in 'TalkCeltic News' started by Taz, Sep 13, 2022.

By Taz on Sep 13, 2022 at 3:17 PM
  1. Taz Blind Justice Gold Member News Writer

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    Celts to Shake Donetsk in Warsaw
    ~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~

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    Stadion Wojska Polskiego
    Wednesday, 14 September 2022
    17.45 BST

    Tomorrow evening the Hoops will line up once again in a Champions League match, when they take on Shakhtar Donetsk in this second Group F fixture.

    And the Hoops will want to get this European campaign back on track after what was a highly credible and commendable performance against Real Madrid, even if the result was ultimately a disappointing one.

    Yet hope springs, and there is such a sense of belief in the manager and this Celtic side that anything is indeed possible, after going toe to toe with the best that Europe has to offer, and this philosophy will once again be put to the test this week.

    And with all of the football across the UK being shutdown over the weekend, it means the unusual oddity of Celtic playing consecutive European matches without any domestic fixtures in between.

    However, rather than travelling to war-torn Ukraine, Shakhtar are playing their home Champions League games in Poland, more than 1000km from Donestsk.

    As it happens the match is being held at a venue that the Hoops have already visited this season, albeit in pre-season. The Bhoys provided the opposition against Legia Warsaw, for Artur Boruc's testimonial, back in July.

    Obviously there is a big difference between that and the intensity of the Champions League, but just maybe the fact the Hoops performed reasonably well on that occasion will provide a small measure of familiarity and confidence going into this game.

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    The Bhoys have had time to reflect on the Real Madrid result and will be looking to bounce back

    Meanwhile, Shakhtar continue on their winning ways at the weekend, with a 2-1 success over Chomomorets Odesa in the League, following on from the impressive 4-1 away win over RB Leipzig on Matchday 1 last week, with former Celt Maryan Shved netting 3 goals over those 2 games.

    Added to all this, Shakhtar are well used to playing away from home, as they've not been able to play in the Dombass Arena since 2014, but with the ongoing war happening they are now having to play these Champions League fixtures outside of their home country entirely.

    If You Know The History...

    These sides have been matched up against each other twice previously, both in the same Group Stage in the Champions League, first in 2004/05 and then 2007/08. Of the 4 games that have been played between these sides, the home side has emerged victorious each time.

    In 2004, Alan Thompson scored early from an indirect freekick from inside of the area that proved the winner for Martin O'Neil's side, while three years later, Massimo Donati famously clinched the win with his dramatic late strike crashing in fron off of the post to send Paradise into rapture, as Gordon Strachan's Bhoys progressed to the Last 16.

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    2007: Massimo Donati celebrates his famous extra-time winner the last time these sides met

    Team News

    The Bhoys will likely be without midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi (leg) and defender Carl Starfelt (knee), although thankfully it unlikely to keep the Swedish International sidelined for long, as he is expected to make a return before the end of the month.

    As for Igor Jovicevic's side, they will be without fullback Viktor Kornienko, but aside from that they are likely to field much the same lineup as the one that defeated RB Leipzig last week.


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    [​IMG] ~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~ [​IMG]

    Overall
    P: 4 W: 2 D: O L: 2

    Previous Meetings
    L W L W

    [​IMG] ~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~ [​IMG]

    Overall
    W W W W L ~ D W W W W
     
    packybhoy and tarboltontim like this.