Shakhtar old guard to face Schalke

With the UEFA Cup set to resume after its winter break, uefa.com looks at the form of the 32 clubs involved in first-leg ties this week.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk v FC Schalke 04
Looking for UEFA Cup success after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group behind AC Milan and FC Barcelona, Shakhtar invested heavily in new players during the winter break, although none have been able to play competitively yet with the Ukrainian Premier League season not resuming until next month. Playmaker Elano Blumer arrived from Santos FC for €7.6m to link up with fellow Brazilian recruits Jadson and Iván Saraiva, while Paraguayan international defender Pedro Juan Benites was coach Mircea Lucescu's first winter signing.

Shakhtar have been warm-weather training in Spain and Turkey, with Lucescu's men playing seven friendlies, beating FC Zürich (4-0) and FC Dinamo Tbilisi (3-1), losing to Besiktas JK (0-1) and FC Zenit St. Petersburg (3-4), and drawing with FC Spartak Moskva, AC Sparta Praha (1-1) and NK Dinamo Zagreb. "It was important for us to play a lot of friendlies as we needed to check a big group of players - the new signings and youngsters," said Lucescu, who also wanted to give Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Matuzalem much-needed match practice after injuries. He added: "In the game against Schalke we will rely on players who played for the club last year and know our system."

Registered players: Elano Blumer, Iván Saraiva, Jadson Rodriguez, Dmytro Moldovan (B list), Roman Stepanenko (B list), Artem Fedetskyy (B list).
Players out: Alexey Bakharev, Daniel Florea, Tsimafei Kalachou.

Unlike most other Bundesliga teams Schalke, who finished second in UEFA Cup Group A, spent the winter break at home in Germany. Coach Ralf Rangnick strengthened his side with the purchase of former German Under-21 international Mimoun Azaouagh from 1. FSV Mainz 05, although an agreement with Fabian Ernst will only see him arrive from Werder Bremen in the summer. Defender Marco van Hoogdalem has been given the all-clear to play again despite being diagnosed with a liver disease and advised to stop playing in July. Making way in midfield is Jörg Böhme, who has joined VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach. One of Schalke's most impressive midfield performers, Lincoln, has signed a new contract tying him to the club until 2008. "He can both create and score goals, and we hope this new contract will give him even more confidence," said Rangnick of the Brazilian.

When the Bundesliga restarted Schalke got off to a perfect start with a 2-1 win against champions Bremen, Ailton scoring the winner against his former club. A 2-0 defeat at 1. FC Kaiserslautern followed before Ailton rescued his side with a late leveller to make it 2-2 at FC Hansa Rostock. Goals from Gerald Asamoah, Ebbe Sand and Mike Hanke enabled the Ruhr outfit to defeat VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 on Saturday and move level on points with the leaders FC Bayern München.

Registered players: Marco van Hoogdalem, Mimoun Azaouagh, Niko Bungert.
Players out: Simon Talarek, Jorg Böhme.