Anderlecht v Shakhtar Donetsk background

RSC Anderlecht barely escaped from Lviv with a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their tie with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, but all is not yet lost for Belgium's sole European survivors this season.

Previous meetings
• Frank Acheampong's away goal was some consolation for Anderlecht as they were swept aside 3-1 in the sides' first European meeting in the first leg.

• Anderlecht's record in seven fixtures against Ukrainian sides is W5 D0 L2 (W3 D0 L0 at home – W2 D0 L2 away). All three of those home games were won by two-goal margins.

• Shakhtar's overall record against Belgian teams now reads W3 D5 L1 (W2 D3 at home – W1 D2 L1 in Belgium). The Pitmen are unbeaten in the most recent eight of those matches (W3 D5) – a run stretching back to a 1-0 loss at Club Brugge KV in 1995.

• Anderlecht beat an FC Dinamo Bucureşti team coached by Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu, 1-0 home and away, in the semi-finals of the 1989/90 European Cup Winners' Cup. They lost 2-0 to UC Sampdoria in the final after extra time.

Form guide
• Anderlecht are unbeaten in six European home games (W4 D2), but have only won once in that spell by a margin that would be sufficient to eliminate Shakhtar – 2-0 against Galatasaray AŞ in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Anderlecht last won a European home game by a margin of more than two goals when they beat FK Ekranas 5-0 in an August 2012 UEFA Champions League qualifier.

• Prior to their 3-0 win at FC Schalke 04 in the round of 32, Shakhtar had scored just two goals in their previous seven European away games (W1 D2 L4), conceding 15 in the same run.

• Of the eight round of 32 entrants, Shakhtar are the only side yet to lose in this season's UEFA Europa League.

• Anderlecht succumbed 3-1 on aggregate to FC Dinamo Moskva in last season's round of 32. The 1983 UEFA Cup winners last contested this stage of the competition in 2009/10 when they fell to Hamburger SV. They last made the last eight in 1996/97.

• This is the first time Shakhtar have reached the round of 16 since they won the final edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009.

Trivia and links
• The journey from Lviv (where Shakhtar are playing their European games) to Brussels is around 1,400km. The journey from Donetsk to the Belgian capital is around 1,000km further.

• Shakhtar boast the player (Darijo Srna, 131) and the coach (Lucescu, 209) who have featured in the most UEFA club competition matches among the round of 16 contenders.

• Anderlecht defender Anthony Vanden Borre briefly played in Ukraine with SC Tavriya Simferopol in 2012.

• Anderlecht have been caught offside 40 times from the group stage onwards – six more than any other side in this season's competition.

The coaches
• Previously assistant coach, the 44-year-old Besnik Hasi assumed sole command at Anderlecht in March 2014. Capped 47 times by Albania, Hasi moved to Belgium in 1994, the midfielder claiming a title with KRC Genk and another with Anderlecht, where he returned after seeing out his playing days at Cercle Brugge KSV. He guided the Purple-and-Whites to the championship in May 2014.

• Lucescu has occupied the Shakhtar helm since 2004 and has led the Pitmen to eight Ukrainian titles and five national cups as well as the 2009 UEFA Cup. The one-time striker, 70, has coached in Romania and Italy and lifted back-to-back Turkish titles with different clubs in the early 2000s.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Anderlecht have lost all three of their UEFA penalty shoot-outs:
L 4-1 A v FC Barcelona (1978/79 European Cup Winners' Cup second round)
L 4-3 A v Tottenham Hotspur FC (1983/84 UEFA Cup final)
L 3-2 H v FK Partizan (2010/11 UEFA Champions League play-offs)

• Shakhtar lost their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out:
L 4-1 A v Club Brugge KV (2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)