Shakhtar v Barca preview

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Last updated: 1st October 2008

Shakhtar v Barca preview

Eto'o: In form

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Group C's leading pair Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona go head-to-head on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona edged out Sporting last time out while Shakhtar eased past Swiss outfit Basle.

Shakhtar are unbeaten in Barca's last two visits and a win would go a long way to strengthening their chances of progressing past the group stages of the competition for the very first time.

The Ukraine outfit's form going into their clash with Barca could hardly be worse however, having gone a club record six league games without success. Their last win came way back on 3rd August.

Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu is stunned by his team's form, but insists his players are focussed on performing at their best against the Catalan giants.

Bad situation

"I can't believe we are in such a bad situation with the quality players we've got," he said.

"Now all our thoughts are focused on Barcelona, but after the next match we have to figure out what is happening to the team."

Lucescu made two changes for their weekend draw 1-1 with FC Metalurh Donetsk at the weekend.

Brandao and Luiz Adriano will be recalled after being rested while Mykola Ischenko could retain his place ahead of Olexandr Kucher.

Razvan Rat could feature after making his comeback from a thigh injury at the weekend, although the game is likely to come too soon for Oleksandr Chyzhov, who has a stomach problem.

Decent shape

Barcelona make the trip to Ukraine in decent shape having secured a morale-boosting victory over city rivals Espanyol at the weekend, their third consecutive success.

Shakhtar will have to keep an eye on in-form striker Samuel Eto'o, who is now back to his best following an impressive goal haul of four in his last four matches.

Eto'o did not start the derby weekend at the Estadio Montjuic, but should be recalled, possibly at the expense of Icelandic hit-man Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Victor Valdes, Xavi, Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal are sure to feature for Josep Guardiola's men having played in all five of their Liga matches this term.

Alexander Hleb (ankle) and Gabriel Milito (knee) will definitely be missing for Guardiola's troops.