Shakhtar out to make point against perfect Manchester City

FC Shakhtar Donetsk hold a clear advantage in the race for second place in Group F, but they still need a draw on matchday six to guarantee themselves progress – and getting that point might be a tall order against a Manchester City FC side who have won all five games, and the section.

• The Ukrainian team were beaten 2-0 in Manchester on matchday two and also lost their most recent fixture, 3-0 at SSC Napoli. Shakhtar nevertheless have nine points, three more than the Italian club, and will be through if they avoid defeat or if Napoli do not win away to Feyenoord, who have lost all five matches.

• City have 15 points, and will finish first. They have scored four goals in each of their away games.

Match background

Shakhtar
• The Donetsk side have won both home fixtures so far, beating Napoli 2-1 on matchday one and Feyenoord 3-1.

• Shakhtar are unbeaten at home to English visitors (W4 D2); their most recent experience was a 1-1 draw with City's neighbours Manchester United FC in the 2013/14 group stage.

• The Pitmen's record against Premier League clubs, home and away, is W4 D3 L6.

• Shakhtar are playing their UEFA Champions League home games in Kharkiv this season due to the political situation in Ukraine, and have won only five of their last 14 home matches in the competition proper, group stage to final.

• Márcio Azevedo, Taison and Marlos all called the OSK Metalist Stadion home before joining Shakhtar from FC Metalist Kharkiv.

• Shakhtar are making their seventh group stage appearance in eight seasons and their 12th in total – all since 2000. They have got to the last 16 on three occasions: 2010/11 (when they reached the quarter-finals), 2012/13 and 2014/15.

• In 2016/17, the Ukrainian team lost to BSC Young Boys in the third qualifying round (2-0 home, 0-2 away, 2-4 on penalties). They eventually made it to the UEFA Europa League round of 32, going down to RC Celta de Vigo (1-0 away, 0-2 home aet).

• That Celta defeat ended Shakhtar's five-game winning run at home, and is their only defeat in their last 12 home matches in Europe (W9 D2).

Manchester City
• City can join a club of six teams to have won all six games in a UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Raheem Sterling has scored in four successive UEFA Champions League matches.

• Before this season, all four of City's encounters with Ukrainian clubs had involved FC Dynamo Kyiv.

• City's record in Ukraine is W1 L1. They were beaten 2-0 at Dynamo in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (1-2 aggregate) but overcame the same opponents at the same stage of the UEFA Champions League five years later (3-1 away, 0-0 home).

• Their overall record with Ukrainian sides is therefore W3 D1 L1.

• This season, the Citizens have won 4-0 at Feyenoord and 4-2 at Napoli.

• City did not win away in last season's competition, losing at AS Monaco FC (1-3) and FC Barcelona (0-4) and drawing at Celtic FC (3-3) and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-1). They have won just three of their last nine European away fixtures (D3 L3).

• The Barcelona match was City's biggest European defeat, home or away.

 • Third in last season's Premier League, City are making a sixth successive UEFA Champions League appearance – they have progressed to the round of 16 or beyond in each of the last four campaigns. On the only other occasion they won their group, 2015/16, they got as far as the semi-finals.

• Last term, Guardiola's men came second in their section and lost on away goals to Monaco in the last 16 (5-3 home, 1-3 away).

Coach and player links
• Shakhtar's record European defeat was a 7-0 loss at Guardiola's FC Bayern München in the 2014/15 round of 16. The Pitmen lost four of their five fixtures against Barcelona when Guardiola was in charge, including the 2009 UEFA Super Cup (0-1).

• Fernandinho was a Shakhtar player between 2005 and 2013 when he left for City, scoring 31 goals in 183 league outings. He was named Ukraine's Premier League player of the year in 2007/08, and amassed six league titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008/09 UEFA Cup.

• Fernandinho's Shakhtar team-mates included Darijo Srna, Andriy Pyatov, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Taras Stepanenko and Taison.

• On 2 May 2012, Fernandinho scored the winner in Shakhtar's 2-1 victory over Marlos's Metalist Kharkiv.

• İlkay Gündoğan was in the Borussia Dortmund side that beat Shakhtar 3-0 in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg on 5 March 2013. Pyatov, Srna, Rakitskiy, Taison and Fernandinho featured for the visitors.

• Olexandr Zinchenko came through the ranks at Shakhtar but departed for City in July 2016 without making a senior appearance.

• Yaya Touré played for FC Metalurh Donetsk from 2003 to 2005, losing both games against Shakhtar.

• Danilo, Nicolás Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala played under current Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca at FC Porto in 2013/14.

• International team-mates:
Taison, Fred & Fernandinho (Brazil)
Andriy Pyatov, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Taras Stepanenko, Viktor Kovalenko & Olexandr Zinchenko (Ukraine)

Match facts

Shakhtar
• Darijo Srna is serving a suspension.

• Shakhtar have won nine of their last 11 home matches, losing one and drawing one.

• The Pitmen have already lost two home league games this season – they have not suffered more than two home defeats in a single campaign since 2006/07.

• Facundo Ferreyra has scored nine goals in his last nine games for Shakhtar, and has 13 in the Ukrainian Premier League this season – the same as he managed in the whole of 2016/17.

• Bernard has struck six in his last nine outings in all competitions, and his haul of five in the Ukrainian Premier League this term is already his best return in five seasons at the club.

Manchester City 
• Kevin De Bruyne will miss the game against Shakhtar through suspension.

• City are on a club record 13-match winning run in the Premier League, beating West Ham United FC 2-1 on Sunday.

• Guardiola's side have won 21 of their 22 fixtures this season, including the penalty shoot-out victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers FC in the English League Cup on 24 October. Everton FC are the only team to have avoided defeat, drawing 1-1 at City on 21 August.

• City are 28 games unbeaten in all competitions (W25 D3, with that shoot-out classed as a win) since the 2-1 loss to Arsenal FC in the FA Cup semi-finals on 23 April.

• Gabriel Jesus has scored 15 goals in his 24 Premier League games.

• Raheem Sterling had scored late winning goals in each of City's three games before the West Ham win. He has 13 goals in 20 appearances for the club, already his highest total in a single season.

• De Bruyne is on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The winner will be announced on 7 December.

• John Stones has not featured since picking up a hamstring injury against Leicester City FC on 18 November.

• Benjamin Mendy was ruled out for several months after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on 23 September.