Shakhtar Donetsk vs Brest facts

Shakhtar Donetsk are in urgent need of improvement as they face Brest on Matchday 7, with the French side looking to continue their impressive debut UEFA Champions League campaign.

The Ukrainian champions have four points with just a single victory, 2-1 against Young Boys at the Arena AufSchalke on Matchday 4, but have lost their other two games in Gelsenkirchen in the league phase including 1-5 against Bayern München on Matchday 6.

Brest have won four of their six games in their first European season, including 1-0 at home to Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 6, suffering a single defeat, 3-0 at Barcelona in their fifth fixture.

This is the teams' first meeting, and Brest's first game against a team from Ukraine.

Form guide

Shakhtar

Record vs French clubs: W9 D6 L6 F29 A 26
Home record vs French clubs: W4 D5 L1

Shakhtar's 2023/24 European campaign was ended by French opposition, Marseille defeating them 5-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-offs (2-2 h, 1-3 a).

That made it four defeats in Shakhtar's last ten games against Ligue 1 clubs, a run that includes only two victories.

A 0-3 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2015/16 Champions League group stage is Shakhtar's only home loss against French visitors, although they have managed only one win in the last five (D3 L1).

The Ukrainian side are making an eighth successive appearance in the Champions League proper, and a 19th overall. They have featured in all but one of the last 15 seasons.

The Pitmen have failed to progress to the knockout rounds in each of the last six campaigns.

In 2023/24, Shakhtar were third in Group H behind Barcelona and Porto despite winning three of their six games. They lost the others, including a decisive 5-3 defeat in Portugal on Matchday 6.

That sent them into the Europa League where Marseille proved too strong in their knockout round play-off (2-2 h, 1-3 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.

The Matchday 4 defeat of Young Boys was only the Pitmen's ninth in their last 30 home European games (D12 L9). They were beaten 0-3 by Atalanta in Gelsenkirchen on Matchday 2 before losing to Bayern last time out.

Shakhtar have nine wins in their last 42 matches in the Champions League proper, home and away (D14 L19).

Under Marino Pušić, who had been appointed in October, Shakhtar won their 15th Ukrainian Premier League in 2023/24. They also lifted the Ukrainian Cup for a record 14th time, a ninth domestic double.

Brest

This is Brest's first season in the Champions League; indeed, they have never before qualified for European competition.

Hugo Magnetti's 23rd-minute opener against Sturm Graz on Matchday 1 was Brest's first European goal, with Abdallah Sima securing a 2-1 debut win in the 56th minute.

Sima also scored twice in the 4-0 Matchday 1 win at Salzburg in Brest's first away European match before a 2-1 triumph at Sparta Praha in their fourth league phase fixture and the defeat in Barcelona.

Leipzig, in 2017, are the only previous club to have made their European debut in the Champions League proper, an honour Brest have shared with Girona this season.

Éric Roy's side secured their place in the competition by finishing third in Ligue 1 in 2023/24 – the club's highest-ever final position. Their 61 points was also a club record.

Les Pirates are the 12th French club to play in the Champions League proper, and the first newcomers since Rennes in 2020/21.

Brest are one of five clubs to be making their Champions League debuts in 2024/25, along with Bologna, Aston Villa, Girona and Slovan Bratislava.

Links and trivia

Pušić was assistant to AZ Alkmaar coach Arne Slot when Marco Bizot was on the Dutch club's books between 2019 and 2021.

Latest news

Shakhtar

After a 1-0 league defeat at Polissya Zhytomyr in the final game of 2024 on 15 December, Shakhtar travelled to Türkiye for a training camp on 4 January.

The Ukrainian league will resume on 22 February with Shakhtar in third place, ten points behind leaders Dynamo Kyiv with a game in hand.

On 9 January the Hirnyky played their first friendly of the winter training camp, drawing 2-2 with fellow Champions League hopefuls GNK Dinamo Zagreb thanks to goals from Kevin and Taras Stepanenko.

On 15 January Shakhtar beat CSKA-Sofia 1-0 thanks to a goal from 18-year-old Viktor Tsukanov before Marlon Gomes, Kevin, Eguinaldo and Pedrinho scored in a 4-0 defeat of Ludogorets.

Georgiy Sudakov is Shakhtar's top scorer across all competitions with nine goals.

The defeat by PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 5 ended Shakhtar's five-match winning streak; since then they have won only once in their last five matches (D1 L3).

Brest

Brest have won five of their six games since Matchday 6 (L1), triumphing 2-1 at Rennes on Saturday to make it successive Ligue 1 victories for the first time this season.

On 15 January Brest were 2-1 victors against Nantes in the French Cup round of 32. They will visit Ligue 2 Troyes in the last 16.

Brest's record in Ligue 1 this season is W8 D1 L9. They were 2-1 winners against Lyon on 11 January having suffered a 2-0 defeat at Angers six days earlier.

That defeat at Angers made it four away Ligue 1 losses in a row before Saturday's success at Rennes.

Left-back Massadio Haïdara (calf) and his replacement Jordan Amavi (thigh) both went off injured against Lyon and missed the weekend win.

Julien Le Cardinal has not played since going off with a hamstring injury on Matchday 6.

A muscle injury has sidelined Jonas Martin since 29 November while Soumaïla Coulibaly has been out with a pelvic injury since 21 November.

Pierre Lees-Melou returned as a late substitute against Nantes having been out with a leg injury since 22 November but was not involved on Saturday.