Old Soviet rivals vie for bragging rights

FC Shakhtar Donetsk will look to overturn a 1-0 UEFA Cup Round of 16 first-leg deficit as PFC CSKA Moskva head south for the deciding leg of this season's second Russia-against-Ukraine blockbuster.

• Vágner Love scored the only goal of the first leg from the penalty spot after 50 minutes in Moscow, but Shakhtar looked the more threatening side for much of the game, with Igor Akinfeev the busier of the two goalkeepers.

• The first leg was the two teams' first meeting in European club competition, and CSKA's first match against a Ukrainian club in a UEFA tournament.

• Shakhtar have now played four games against Russian sides in Europe. They previously lost 4-1 to SC Rotor Volgograd in the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and then bowed 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 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 read P73 W36 D15 L22.

• Shakhtar's record in 37 league home games against CSKA read P37 W15 D8 L14.

• In the two sides' three USSR Cup meetings, Shakhtar earned two draws and a win against the Army Men, including a victory and a draw in Moscow.

• The clubs have met three times since independence in the annual pre-season tournament held 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 tie this season to bring together big sides from Ukraine and Russia. 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.

• The first leg against CSKA was the first time Shakhtar's Romanian boss Mircea Lucescu had ever 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 nine fixtures netting them eight wins and a draw.

• CSKA are unbeaten in their last four European games on their travels, collecting three wins and a draw. They have scored at least once in their last seven UEFA club competition away matches.

• Shakhtar have won their last two European home fixtures without conceding a goal.

• Shakhtar have twice recovered from a first-leg defeat to win European ties. They lost 1-0 at home to SK Slavia Praha in the third qualifying round of the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League, but won 2-0 in Prague to go through. Then, at the same stage of the 2007/08 edition, they won 3-1 at home against FC Salzburg to recover from a 1-0 away reverse.

• CSKA have lost three ties after winning the first legs, most recently in the second qualifying round of the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League, when they beat Molde FK 2-0 at home but lost the return leg 4-0 in Norway. Ferencvarósi TC (in 1994/95) and R. Standard de Liège (in 1971/72) are the other clubs to have lost first legs against CSKA and lived to tell the tale.

• Shakhtar are one of four sides left in the UEFA Cup who qualified for European 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 teams 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 eleven goals. Jürgen Klinsmann holds the record as the most prolific marksman in a single UEFA Cup campaign, registering 15 times for FC Bayern München in the 1995/96 competition.

• Jadson leads Shakhtar's goalscorers in Europe this season with five strikes 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.

• Shakhtar were beaten 4-1 on penalties away to Club Brugge KV following a 2-2 aggregate result in the third qualifying round of the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. It is their only UEFA competition shoot-out to date.

• CSKA have only taken part in one penalty shoot-out in UEFA club competition. They lost 7-6 on penalties against Ferencváros after the pair had drawn 3-3 on aggregate in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round.

• Shakhtar's Dmytro Chygrynskiy is suspended, while team-mates Tomáš Hübschman, Olexandr Kucher, Fernandinho and Darijo Srna are within a caution of a ban.

• CSKA's Yuri Zhirkov is also suspended, while Vágner Love is a booking shy of a ban.

• 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.