SHAKHTAR DONETSK

League position: 2nd
Head coach: Luis Castro
European top-scorer: Manor Solomon, Tete (2)

RECENT FORM

Roma: D W L W W
Shakhtar: W W L L W

Roma made it two wins on the bounce with victory over Fiorentina on Sunday and they have lost just one of their previous seven in all competitions (W5, D1, L1).

That run includes two comfortable wins over Braga in the Europa League to reach this stage of the tournament, and the Giallorossi are yet to be beaten at home in Europe this term (W3, D1).

As for the visitors, they put the disappointment of exiting the Ukrainian Cup in the quarter finals last Wednesday by picking up victory in the Donetsk derby on Saturday.

That leaves them four points off top spot domestically, going into their third Europa League outing of the campaign following their third-placed finish in Group A of the Champions League, where Castro’s side beat Real Madrid twice and twice drew 0-0 with Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

In the last round of the competition, they beat Maccaibi Tel-Aviv 3-0 on aggregate in the last-32 of the competition.

DANGER MAN
Junior Moraes

The 33-year-old Brazil-born Ukraine international was signed by Paulo Fonseca ahead of what would be the Portuguese tactician’s final season at the club in 2017-18, before the coach moved to the Italian capital.

Moraes scored 17 times in the league and twice more in the cup as Shakhtar won a third successive domestic double under Fonseca in a highly productive campaign for both coach and striker.

Another 16 league goals followed last term, but Moraes hasn’t been as productive in 2020-21, with just two strikes from 12 appearances to his name in Ukraine’s top-flight.

He did, however, score the winner in the home leg victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEL round of 32 and he will be hungry to impress in front of his former boss.

MATCH STATS

Each of the six previous meetings between Roma and Shakhtar were played in Champions League, with the Ukrainians edging things so far with four wins to the Italians' two.

The last time these two played each other at the Olimpico, Roma ran out 1-0 winners in 2018 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Fonseca was Shakhtar coach that day and the Portuguese tactician won three successive domestic league and cup doubles across his three seasons in charge of the Miners.

The Giallorossi have won each of their last seven home games in the knockouts of either the Europa or Champions League, which is their best run since they won 13 such matches on the spin up until 1998.

In four European outings at the Olimpico so far in 2020-21, Roma have conceded just twice and scored 11 times.

PLAYER STATS

• Borja Mayoral has scored four of his five Europa League goals this season at the Olimpico; a record only Tottenham Hotspur striker Carlos Vinicius (five) can better on home soil across this year's tournament.
  
• Leonardo Spinazzola has served up three assists in seven UEL games this term, which is more than the two he managed across the past two seasons combined.
  
• Pau Lopez has conceded just three times and kept four clean sheets in his seven European appearances in 2020-21.
  
• Edin Dzeko, Federico Fazio and Stephan El Shaarawy are the only Roma players that played in the previous meeting with Shakhtar at the Olimpico in Rome still at the club, while Dentinho, Ismaily, Marlos, Alan Patrick, Andriy Pyatov, Taras Stepanenko and Taison all remain in the Donetsk ranks.

WHAT THEY SAID

"[Fonseca is] my friend. We worked together at Porto. When he left Shakhtar, I came to replace him. He is a big coach with great knowledge and great quality of football. But the game won’t be against Paulo Fonseca, but against Roma. So Fonseca won’t play against Castro, but against Shakhtar. Both teams will have a clear desire to advance to the quarter-finals. It will be a really tight stage for both teams, with two very difficult meetings – initially in Rome and then in Kiev."

- Shakhtar coach Luis Castro