Key events
Darijo Srna, former Croatia international and director of football at Shakhtar, speaks to TNT:
I’m not just sporting director. Sometimes I’m father, mother, sister, brother, grandpa … we have a young team, lot of young players tonight from Brazil, they need adaptation, sometimes it’s not easy during the night, rockets, sirens, but we are united, we are together. And we are here to play football. We are here to give positive emotions to the Ukrainian people tonight.
Glasner makes one change from the Palace side that started against Liverpool: Brennan Johnson is replaced by Yeremy Pino. Shakhtar have seven Brazilians in their XI, as pointed out by Glasner, speaking to TNT. “It’s really awesome what we’ve done together,” he says of the European journey. “Now it’s sticking to our principles, play with confidence, trust in what we are doing.”
The teams
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Tobías, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedro Henrique, Ocheretko, Alisson Santana, Pedrinho, Marlon Gomes, Eguinaldo, Kauã Elias
Subs: Tvardovskyi, Traoré, Marlon Santos, Newertton, Isaque, Azarov, Ghram, Bondarenko, Nazaryna, Lucas Ferreira, Luca Meirelles, Obah
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Canvot, Muñoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Mateta, Pino
Subs: Matthews, Benítez, Lerma, Johnson, Clyne, Hughes, Strand Larsen, Sosa, Riad, Devenny, Cardines
There’s also this interview with Turan by Nick Ames from last July to get stuck into. He’s learned from the best.
With Simeone and Luis Enrique I had very valuable chats and discussions. They were excellent teachers but I also believe good students should improve on what they have been taught. I have a lot of positives in my pocket and now I’m trying to put them into practice on the pitch.
And here’s Ed on Palace and Glasner, who won the Europa League at Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.
Here’s Ed Aarons’ excellent piece on Shakhtar’s journey.
Shakhtar reached the last four of the Europa League in 2016 and 2020 before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 changed everything. Most of the club’s foreign players departed after special Fifa regulations allowed them to leave for free. Shakhtar failed with a claim for up to €50m in compensation and were forced to start from scratch.
Preamble
Yes, the one in Nottingham is a tantalising fixture … but this’ll be good, too, promise. Oliver Glasner has entered the final weeks of his spell at Crystal Palace with a prize still available; the club who took 120 years to win their first major trophy could make it two in two. They’re in Krakow after sweeping aside Fiorentina in the quarters, a 3-0 win at home in the first leg allowing for a 2-1 loss in the second.
In the other corner, Arda Turan’s Shakhtar Donetsk. The former Atlético Madrid and Turkey midfielder is on his way to a league title in his first season at the helm, with Shakhtar eyeing up their second European trophy – they won the Uefa Cup in 2009, right before the Europa League rebrand. His side are here after a 5-2 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar. All of their Conference League “home” games this season have been played at the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium, owing to obvious reasons. “There is war in Ukraine and yet people live their lives,” said Turan. “Every day shows that this nation never gives up.” We get going at 8pm BST.
