Porto vs Shakhtar Donetsk facts

Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk meet at the Estádio do Dragão to decide the second qualifying place in UEFA Champions League Group H.

The teams are level on nine points, three behind already qualified Barcelona. Porto's 3-1 win in Hamburg on Matchday 1 means a draw would be enough for them to take second place on head-to-head record; Shakhtar, who have won their last two games 1-0, need to make it three successive victories to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2017/18.

However, history favours Porto for this fixture; the Portuguese side have never lost to Shakhtar in seven previous meetings.

Previous meetings 

7 matches
4 Porto wins
0 Shakhtar wins
3 draws
14 Porto goals
8 Shakhtar goals

Porto recorded their fourth win against Shakhtar on 19 September, ending a run of two draws against the Ukrainian side with a 3-1 victory at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. Three of the match's four goals came in the first 15 minutes and all in the first half-hour, Galeno striking twice for Porto (8, 15) either side of Kevin Kelsy's 13th-minute strike for Shakhtar, before Mehdi Taremi scored the clincher in the 29th minute.

The sides had previously met in the 2014/15 Champions League group stage, the Matchday 2 fixture in Lviv producing a dramatic finale as it ended in a 2-2 draw. Alex Teixeira's 52nd-minute goal put Shakhtar in front and the points looked secure when Luiz Adriano doubled the advantage five minutes from time, but Jackson Martínez pulled one back with an 89th-minute penalty and then snatched a draw four minutes into added time.

It was 1-1 at the Estádio do Dragão on Matchday 6, Porto this time rescuing a point thanks to Vincent Aboubakar's 87th-minute goal; Taras Stepanenko had given Shakhtar the advantage five minutes into the second period with one of his two Champions League goals.

Those two draws were the only points Porto dropped in the section as they finished first in Group H on 14 points; Shakhtar were runners-up on nine, ahead of Athletic Club and BATE Borisov. Both sides would subsequently be eliminated by Bayern München, Shakhtar in the round of 16 (0-7 aggregate) and Porto in the quarter-finals (4-7 agg.).

Porto won both 2011/12 group stage encounters between the teams, 2-1 at home and 2-0 away.

Luiz Adriano put Shakhtar ahead in Porto before Hulk, who also missed a penalty, equalised. Kléber scored Porto's decisive second against visitors who had Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Dmytro Chygrynskiy sent off.

In the return, Hulk (79) and a Răzvan Raţ own goal (90) secured a 2-0 away victory for the Portuguese side. Porto finished third in the group with Shakhtar fourth.

The clubs' other encounters came in the 1983/84 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals. António Morais's Porto battled back from 2-0 down to win their home leg 3-2 before drawing 1-1 with Viktor Nosov's Shakhtar.

Porto went all the way to the final, losing 2-1 to Juventus in Basel. It was the first time Shakhtar had reached a major European quarter-final – an achievement they did not match until their triumphant 2008/09 UEFA Cup run.

Form guide

Porto

Record vs Ukrainian clubs: W8 D5 L2 F25 A18
Home record vs Ukrainian clubs: W4 D1 L2

Porto suffered their second defeat against Ukrainian opponents in their previous fixture before this season, going down 2-0 at home to Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 5 of the 2015/16 Champions League.

The first game in Kyiv had finished 2-2, making it four successive draws for Porto against Ukrainian clubs. Matchday 1 therefore ended a five-game run without a win against teams from Ukraine.

Porto's last home win against Ukrainian visitors was a 3-2 defeat of Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 3 of the 2012/13 Champions League.

Porto are appearing in the Champions League group stage for the 27th time, level with Bayern and one behind the competition record held by Barcelona and Real Madrid.

This is the Portuguese club's 12th appearance in the last 13 seasons, with five of their last six campaigns having extended into the knockout rounds.

The Dragons were edged out by eventual runners-up Inter in the 2022/23 round of 16, losing 1-0 in Milan before a 0-0 draw in Portugal. Porto had finished first in Group B ahead of Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético de Madrid.

This season, Porto have lost only to Barcelona, 1-0 at home and 2-1 away. After beating Shakhtar 3-1 in Germany on Matchday 1, they overcame Antwerp 4-1 away and 2-1 at home.

The home victory against Antwerp on Matchday 4 was one of 15 wins in Porto's last 33 games in the Champions League proper (D4 L14).

The Matchday 2 loss to Barcelona is one of only four defeats in Porto's last 16 home games in the Champions League group stage, with 11 victories in that sequence.

Porto were European champions in 1987 and 2004. They are the only Portuguese side to reach the Champions League final.

Shakhtar

Record vs Portuguese clubs: W9 D5 L7 F36 A28
Away record vs Portuguese clubs: W5 D2 L3

Shakhtar were victorious in their previous contest against Portuguese opponents, beating Benfica 5-4 on aggregate in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

A 2-1 first-leg victory in Kharkiv set up that success, making it five successive wins against Portuguese Liga sides; that run was ended by a 3-3 second-leg draw in Lisbon.

Shakhtar's last defeat in Portugal was that 2011 loss at Porto; their record since is W2 D2.

The Ukrainian side are making a seventh successive appearance in the Champions League group stage, and an 18th overall. They have featured in all but one of the last 14 seasons.

The Pitmen have failed to progress from their section in each of the last five campaigns.

In 2022/23, Shakhtar kicked off with a 4-1 win at Leipzig but failed to win another game, finishing with six points to end third in Group F behind Real Madrid and the German club.

That victory at Leipzig was Shakhtar's first in the Champions League since a 2-0 win at home to Real Madrid on Matchday 5 in 2020/21.

Last season, the Donetsk club subsequently won a dramatic Europa League knockout round play-off against Rennes, progressing 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate draw, but were overwhelmed by Feyenoord in the round of 16 (1-1 h, 1-7 a).

Shakhtar's most successful Champions League campaign came in 2010/11, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing 6-1 on aggregate to eventual champions Barcelona.

This season the Ukrainian side kicked off with the 3-1 loss to Porto in Hamburg before coming from two down to win 3-2 at Antwerp. Beaten 2-1 at Barcelona on Matchday 3, they then defeated the Spanish side and Antwerp, both 1-0 in Germany.

That Matchday 5 win was only Shakhtar's fifth in their last 21 group games (D7 L9), and one of just eight in their last 35 matches in the competition proper (D13 L14).

The win at Antwerp was only Shakhtar's second in their last ten away Champions League group games (D2 L6), the other at Leipzig last season.

Victory in Antwerp was also only Shakhtar's second in their last ten European away matches – a sequence that includes seven defeats.

Under Igor Jovićević, Shakhtar won their 14th Ukrainian Premier League in 2022/23, finishing five points above Dnipro-1.

Jovićević was replaced as coach in the summer by Patrick van Leeuwen, who in turn left the club on 16 October; eight days later, Marino Pušić was announced as his replacement on a deal until 2026.

Links and trivia

Pepe captained Real Madrid to a 4-3 win at Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv on Matchday 5 of the 2015/16 Champions League group stage. He had come on at half-time of a 4-0 home victory on Matchday 1, Stepanenko and Rakytskiy starting both fixtures for the Pitmen.

Shakhtar pair Irakli Azarovi and Giorgi Gocholeishvili were substitutes as Georgia beat Portugal, for whom Francisco Conceição also came off the bench, 2-0 in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship group stage on 21 June.

Latest news

Porto

Porto have won nine of their last 12 games in all competitions, losing the others including two of their last four matches.

Sérgio Conceição's side were 3-1 winners at home to Casa Pia on Saturday, Evanilson giving them an early lead before further goals from central defenders Zé Pedro, who had never scored for Porto's senior side, and Pepe, with his first Portuguese Liga goal since 16 April 2022 and just his 13th in 181 league appearances for the club.

The Dragons won 3-0 at Famalicão in the Portuguese Liga on 2 December thanks to goals from Evanilson, Mehdi Taremi and Francisco Conceição. It was the first time Porto had scored more than two goals in a league game this season.

Porto have five wins in their last six league matches, the exception a 1-0 home defeat against Estoril on 3 November.

On 6 December Porto's first game in their defence of the Portuguese League Cup was also their last, a 3-1 defeat at Estoril ending their qualification hopes in Group D.

Brazilian winger Pepê scored Porto's goal, his second of the season – both in his last four games.

This was Porto's sixth defeat in the first 21 games of the season, their highest total at that stage since 2004/05 and as many losses as they suffered in the whole of 2022/23.

Porto's six defeats so far in 2023/24 have come against three clubs: Benfica, Barcelona and Estoril.

Portuguese Cup holders Porto will again visit Estoril in this season's round of 16 in January.

On 24 November Evanilson scored twice as the Dragons beat fourth division side Montalegre 4-0 in the Portuguese Cup fourth round. Danny Namaso opened the scoring with his first goal of the season and substitute Fran Navarro got the final goal, his first for the club.

Evanilson scored eight goals in eight appearances in all competitions before Matchday 5 and has two in four games since then. He is still Porto's top scorer this season with 11 in all competitions.

Porto suffered their second Portuguese Liga defeat of the season on 3 November, going down 1-0 at home to Estoril. It also ended their ten-match unbeaten home league run (W9 D1), since a 2-1 loss against Gil Vicente on 26 February.

The 2-0 win at Vizela on 29 October was the only time in this season's Portuguese league that Porto had prevailed by a margin of more than one goal before their victories at Famalicão and against Casa Pia.

The Dragons have scored in 18 of their 22 matches this season, losing all four in which they failed to find the net.

Sérgio Conceição's side started their season by losing 2-0 against Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup on 9 August, with captain Pepe sent off late on.

Alan Varela started on Saturday, his first game since being taken off at Famalicão with a hip injury.

João Mário has not played since going off with a thigh injury at Barcelona on Matchday 5.

Wendell has been out since being replaced at Antwerp on Matchday 3 due to a left calf injury.

Marcano injured his right knee during the 1-0 win at Estrela da Amadora on 15 September and was diagnosed with a damaged cruciate ligament, meaning he will be sidelined for several months.

Pepe's goal against Antwerp on Matchday 4 made him the oldest scorer in UEFA Champions League history, aged 40 years 254 days – smashing the long-standing record of Francesco Totti, who was 38 years 59 days when he found the net for Roma against CSKA Moskva in November 2014. It was Pepe's first Champions League goal since November 2012, when he was 29.

The Porto defender's appearance at Antwerp on Matchday 3 had made him the oldest outfield player to feature in the Champions League, aged 40 years 241 days, surpassing the record of both Alessandro Costacurta and David Weir (40 years 111 days).

Evanilson's hat-trick at Antwerp on Matchday 3 was only Porto's second in the Champions League, after Yacine Brahimi against BATE Borisov in 2014. The Brazilian also became only the seventh player to score a hat-trick in the competition as a substitute.

On 20 November, at the Quinas de Ouro gala, an annual event promoted by the Portuguese Football Federation which recognises sporting achievements, Pepe received a special distinction for becoming the oldest outfield Champions League player.

Shakhtar

Shakhtar made it four games unbeaten (W3 D1) and four successive clean sheets with a 2-0 home win against Veres Rivne on Friday, Dmytro Kryskiv and Oleksandr Zubkov both scoring for the second game in succession – taking their goal tally in the league this season to four. Zubkov also had a penalty saved.

The Pitmen were also 2-0 home winners against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv on 3 December thanks to goals from Zubkov and Kryskiv, the latter's first in this season's Ukrainian Premier League since 20 August.

Kryskiv now has four goals and four assists this season in all competitions, behind Danylo Sikan (six goals, three assists).

Shakhtar have won only four of their last eight league games (D2 L2).

On 24 November Shakhtar were held 0-0 at home by Polissya Zhytomyr. It was the first league game in which they had failed to score since another goalless draw, against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv on 23 August 2022, a run of 41 games.

The Pitmen have already lost twice in this season's Ukrainian Premier League; their second league defeat in 2022/23 did not arrive until the final game of the season, a 2-1 reverse at Vorskla Poltava on 4 June.

Shakhtar suffered their first domestic loss under new head coach Marino Pušić on 12 November, going down 3-1 at home to Dnipro-1.

Sikan gave Shakhtar an early lead, his sixth goal of the season in all competitions making him the club's top scorer.

A week earlier Shakhtar were 1-0 winners at Dynamo Kyiv thanks to a second-half goal from Zubkov.

Patrick van Leeuwen's departure on 16 October made his tenure as coach, at 105 days, the shortest in the club's history since Ukrainian independence.

Darijo Srna, the sporting director, served as the interim replacement before former Feyenoord assistant coach Pušić was appointed as the permanent successor on 24 October. The 52-year-old Bosnian has signed a contract until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Shakhtar had suffered their only other defeat in this season's Ukrainian Premier League on 30 September, going down 2-1 at home to Vorskla despite Zubkov's first goal of the season.

Club captain Taras Stepanenko made his 400th appearance for Shakhtar on 26 September in a 3-0 victory against Veres Rivne in the Ukrainian Cup round of 16.

Yukhym Konoplia has been out with a thigh injury since being replaced early on against Polissya.

Dmytro Chygrynskyi and Ivan Petryak both picked up injuries on 20 November in a 3-1 friendly defeat by Rukh Lviv; neither has played since.

Shakhtar's first-choice striker Lassina Traoré has not played since suffering a torn tendon on 14 August; he has not been included in their UEFA Champions League squad.