CSKA and Shakhtar's blast from the past

PFC CSKA Moskva and FC Shakhtar Donetsk will meet for the their first competitive fixture since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the UEFA Cup Round of 16 in the season's second Russia-against-Ukraine blockbuster.

• The two teams have never met in European club competition, and CSKA have never played a Ukrainian club in a UEFA tournament before.

• Shakhtar have played three games against Russian sides in Europe, losing 4-1 to SC Rotor Volgograd in the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and then bowing out to FC Lokomotiv Moskva in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, winning 1-0 at home but going down 3-1 in their last competitive game in Moscow.

• CSKA are traditionally the club of the Russian army. Founded in 1911, their initials stand for Central Sports Army Club. Their honours include seven Soviet titles, five USSR Cups, three Russian titles, four Russian Cups and the 2004/05 UEFA Cup.

• Hailing from the coal-rich Donbass region, Shakhtar's name literally means 'Miner'. Their nicknames, Hirnyky (the Pitmen) and Kroty (the Moles), also refer to their colliery roots. Their honours include four USSR Cups, four Ukrainian titles and six Ukrainian Cups.

• The clubs met 73 times in the league in the days of the Soviet Union, with the Army Men having the upper hand. Their record against Shakhtar reads P73 W36 D15 L22.

• Shakhtar's visits to Moscow to take on CSKA have ended in disappointment more often than not, their record reading P35 W7 D7 L21.

• However, Shakhtar's showing in USSR Cup fixtures against CSKA is more encouraging. In three meetings, they earned two draws and a win against the Army Men, including a win and a draw in Moscow.

• The clubs have met three times since independence in the annual First Channel Cup tournament, which takes place in Israel. Shakhtar beat CSKA 3-1 in both 2006 and in their most recent meeting in 2008, but CSKA won the 2007 fixture 2-0.

• This is not the first time this season that big sides from Ukraine and Russia have met. FC Dynamo Kyiv took on FC Spartak Moskva in the third qualifying round of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League, with the Ukrainian outfit claiming 4-1 wins away and at home against their big Soviet-era rivals.

• Shakhtar's Romanian boss Mircea Lucescu has never previously taken on a Russian club side as a player or a coach.

• CSKA coach Zico has been in charge for one previous two-legged fixture against a Ukrainian side, when his Fenerbahçe SK team went out to Dynamo in the third qualifying round of the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League. They lost 3-1 in Kiev then drew 2-2 in Istanbul.

• CSKA have yet to lose in Europe this season, with their eight fixtures netting them seven wins and a draw.

• They have won their last four UEFA Cup home games.

• Shakhtar are unbeaten in their last four European matches, a run which comprises a draw and three wins - including a 3-2 victory against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou.

• They have lost only one of their last five continental away games - 1-0 at Sporting Clube de Portugal in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage - recording a draw and three wins in the remaining fixtures.

• Shakhtar are one of four sides left in the UEFA Cup who qualified for the competition as domestic league champions, the others being Galatasaray AŞ (Turkey), Aalborg BK (Denmark), and FC Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia).

• CSKA are one of four sides still remaining in the competition to have won the UEFA Cup along with AFC Ajax (1991/92), Galatasaray (1999/00) and Zenit (2007/08).

• CSKA's Vágner Love is the top scorer in this season's UEFA Cup with ten goals so far. Jürgen Klinsmann holds the record for the most goals scored in a single UEFA Cup campaign, registering 15 times for FC Bayern München in the 1995/96 competition.

• Jadson is Shakhtar's most prolific striker in Europe this season with five goals since the start of the UEFA Champions League group stage. He also scored once in qualifying, but this does not count towards his total.

• Ukrainian champions Shakhtar finished third in UEFA Champions League Group C to reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32, where they beat Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-0 at home before drawing the return leg 1-1 in London.

• Third in Russia in 2007, 2008 Premier-Liga runners-up CSKA reached the Round of 32 as the top side in Group H. They then drew 1-1 at Aston Villa FC before progressing with a 2-0 win at home against the English side.

• CSKA's Yuri Zhirkov is within a booking of a match ban along with Shaktar's Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Tomáš Hübschman, Olexandr Kucher and Darijo Srna.

• The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals takes place in Nyon on 20 March, exactly two months before the final at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May.