Barcelona steeled for Donbass stronghold

FC Barcelona visit one of European football's most redoubtable strongholds when they take on FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the return leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

• The Spanish side, however, have the considerable comfort of a 5-1 lead following the first leg at the Camp Nou. Andrés Iniesta, Daniel Alves, Gerard Piqué, Seydou Keita and Xavi Hernández scored the goals, Yaroslav Rakitskiy mustering Shakhtar's sole reply.

• Shakhtar must do what only three clubs have previously managed in UEFA competition – overturn a four-goal first-leg deficit. Real Madrid CF recovered a 5-1 loss at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup third round, winning the return 4-0, while Leixões SC (against FC La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1961/62 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round) and FK Partizan (Queens Park Rangers FC, 1984/85 UEFA Cup second round), overturned 6-2 away losses with 5-0 and 4-0 home victories respectively.

• RC Deportivo La Coruña hold the record for the biggest first-leg defeat overturned in the UEFA Champions League era, losing 4-1 at AC Milan in the 2003/04 quarter-finals but subsequently winning 4-0 at home.

• Since moving into the Donbass Arena in September 2009 the Ukrainian titleholders have suffered only one defeat in all competitions. They have a 100% home record in this term's UEFA Champions League and are unbeaten in 12 games in European competition in Donetsk, including nine victories.

Previous meetings
• Prior to this season the teams had met seven times with Barcelona recording four wins to Shakhtar's two with one draw.

• Barcelona beat Shakhtar in the UEFA Super Cup at Monaco's Stade Louis II on 28 August 2009, substitute Pedro Rodríguez scoring the only goal in the 115th minute.

• The lineups that night were:
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Abidal, Touré (Busquets 100), Keita, Xavi, Messi, Ibrahimović (Pedro 81), Henry (Bojan 96).
Shakhtar: Pyatov, Srna, Kucher, Chygrynskiy, Raţ, Willian (Aghahowa 91), Gai (Kobin 80), Hübschman, Fernandinho (Jadson 80), Luiz Adriano, Ilsinho.

• When the clubs last met at the RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage, Shakhtar took the lead through Ilsinho (45) but substitute Lionel Messi equalised (87) and then struck a winner four minutes into stoppage time.

• The lineups for that game on 1 October 2008 were:
Shakhtar: Pyatov, Srna, Chygrynskiy, Ischenko, Shevchuk, Hübschman, Duljaj (Lewandowski 90), Ilsinho (Willian 86), Fernandinho, Brandão, Luiz Adriano (Seleznov 72).
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Márquez, Piqué, Puyol, Xavi, Touré, Keita (Gudjohnsen 81), Iniesta, Eto'o (Bojan 74), Henry (Messi 60).

• Shakhtar subsequently prevailed 3-2 in the return fixture in Barcelona in the final game of the group stage. Olexandr Gladkiy (2) and Fernandinho scored for the visitors, Sylvinho and Sergio Busquets replying for Barcelona. However, it did not alter either team's destiny with the Ukrainian side already fixed in third place and Barcelona first. Barcelona went on to win the UEFA Champions League and Shakhtar the UEFA Cup.

• It finished 1-1 in the teams' first encounter in Donetsk in the 1978/79 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round, Hans Krankl cancelling out Yuri Reznik's first-minute goal as Barcelona completed a 4-1 aggregate triumph en route to winning the trophy.

• The sides met again in Donetsk in their final game of the 2004/05 group stage when Julius Aghahowa's double secured Shakhtar a 2-0 victory. It was vengeance for an earlier 3-0 loss at the Camp Nou but came too late to save Shakhtar from early elimination as Barcelona progressed.

Match background
• Barcelona have won 10 of their 12 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals but Shakhtar, in their first appearance at this stage, have four straight home wins this term with just one goal conceded.

• Barcelona have recorded a solitary away victory, at Panathinaikos FC, in this season's competition along with two draws and a defeat in their last-16 visit to Arsenal FC.

• Shakhtar's record at home to Spanish opponents is one win, three draws and two defeats.

• Alves and Adriano were in the Sevilla FC side that won in Donetsk in dramatic fashion in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup round of 16. After a 2-2 first-leg draw, Shakhtar led 2-1 in stoppage time only for Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop to equalise and force extra time. Sevilla got a third goal and went on to win the trophy.

• Barcelona's overall record in Ukraine is W4 D1 L3. Their most recent success came at FC Dynamo Kyiv in last term's group stage where they came from behind to prevail through goals from Xavi and, with four minutes remaining, Messi.

• Shakhtar have won only two of the 14 UEFA competition ties in which they have lost the first leg away from home, most recently drawing 1-1 with Fulham FC in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 following a 2-1 away loss. Both victories have been achieved following a 1-0 first-leg defeat, against FC Salzburg (2007/08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, 3-1 home) and PFC CSKA Moskva (2008/09 UEFA Cup, 2-0 home).

• Of the 12 ties they lost, Shakhtar had the consolation of a second-leg home victory on five occasions.

• Barcelona have won 36 of the 38 UEFA competition ties in which they won the first leg at home, most recently following a 4-0 defeat of FC Bayern München with a 1-1 away draw in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The only tie in which a Camp Nou opener has finished 5-1 in their favour, against FC Steaua Bucureşti in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup first round, preceded a 3-1 second-leg success.

• The biggest first-leg lead Barcelona have let slip came in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final, when a 2-0 home defeat of Manchester United FC preceded a 3-0 away reverse.

• Shakhtar's shoot-out record in UEFA competition is:
1-4 v Club Brugge KV, 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• Barcelona's record is:
5-4 v Lech Poznán, 1988/89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round
0-2 v FC Steaua Bucureşti, 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
5-4 v IFK Göteborg, 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-final
4-1 v RSC Anderlecht, 1978/79 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round
3-1 v Ipswich Town FC, 1977/78 UEFA Cup third round
5-4 v AZ Alkmaar, 1977/78 UEFA Cup second round

Team ties
• Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola twice played in Ukraine in UEFA competition ties against Dynamo Kyiv. In 1991/92 he was in the side that prevailed 2-0 in the group stage of the European Cup and proceeded to win the trophy for the first time.

• Two seasons later Guardiola was on the losing team in a 3-1 defeat by Dynamo in the UEFA Champions League first round, though they recovered to win the return leg 4-1 and went all the way to the final before succumbing to Milan. Overall, Guardiola won three and lost one of four meetings with the Kyiv club.

• Mircea Lucescu led Galatasaray AŞ to a 2-2 draw at Barcelona in the 2001/02 second group stage but then saw his side go down 1-0 at home to a Blaugrana team including Carles Puyol and Xavi.

• Lucescu oversaw Galatasaray's 2-1 triumph against Real Madrid in the 2000 UEFA Super Cup.

• Dmytro Chygrynskiy became the first Ukrainian to play for Barcelona when he arrived at the Camp Nou from Shakhtar in August 2009. He made 12 Liga appearances and another two in the Copa del Rey before returning to Donetsk last July.

• David Villa scored both goals in Valencia CF's 2-0 win against Shakhtar in the 2006/07 group stage. He also played in the 2-2 return draw in Donetsk in October 2006. At that year's FIFA World Cup in Germany, Villa struck twice in Spain's 4-0 defeat of a Ukraine team playing their first match as an independent nation on the world stage.

• Hübschman was in the Czech Republic side beaten 2-1 by Spain in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying on 25 March. Villa scored both goals in Granada for the home side, which also included Piqué, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets.

• Jadson and Alves appeared together in Brazil's 2-0 friendly win against Scotland on 27 March. Jadson made his international debut as a substitute in Brazil's February loss to France, a match in which Alves and Éric Abidal both played.

• Marcelo Moreno scored the opening goal in Bolivia's 6-1 World Cup qualifying triumph at home to an Argentina side containing Javier Mascherano and Messi on 1 April 2009.

• Eduardo appeared as a substitute in Arsenal's 4-1 loss at Barcelona in last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.