Shakhtar Donetsk v Braga background
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Article summary
Paulo Fonseca knows his side's matchday two opponents only too well, the new Shakhtar boss having coached Braga last season – when they lost twice against his current employers.
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New Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca is up against the side he led against the Pitmen in last season's competition, Braga, as his team look to maintain their 100% start in Group H.
Previous meetings
• The clubs are meeting for the fifth time, with Shakhtar seeking a fifth win.
• Under Mircea Lucescu, the Donetsk outfit beat Domingos Paciência's Braga 3-0 away and 2-0 at home in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage, and then eliminated Paulo Fonseca's Arsenalistas in last term's UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, winning 2-1 in Portugal and 4-0 at home.
• The aggregate score in those games is 11-1 to Shakhtar.
• Shakhtar's 16 matches against Portuguese sides have ended W6 D4 L6 (W2 D3 L3 at home). Braga remain the only Portuguese club that Shakhtar have beaten in Ukraine.
• Braga are yet to win in six encounters with Ukrainian clubs – two draws in addition to their four defeats by Shakhtar.
Form guide
• Shakhtar have won all three of their UEFA Europa League games this season, and are unbeaten in six matches at the Arena Lviv (W4 D2) since a 4-3 loss to Real Madrid in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Braga have failed to score in four of their last five away fixtures in Europe.
• Winners in 2009, Shakhtar have advanced through both of their previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
• Losing finalists in 2011, Braga have made it through all five of their preceding UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League campaigns.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Braga to Donetsk is around 3,700km.
• Shakhtar's Darijo Srna has played 140 UEFA club competition games, the highest total of any player in this season's UEFA Europa League. His nearest rival, Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimović, has made 129.
• Shakhtar left-back Ismaily joined the club from Braga in 2013.
The coaches
• Paulo Fonseca took the Shakhtar reins this summer after Mircea Lucescu moved on following 12 years in the post. His Braga team were eliminated by Shakhtar in last season's UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, but went on to land the Portuguese Cup.
• José Peseiro returned for a second stint as Braga coach this summer, following a brief spell in charge at Porto. A lower-league forward, he was Carlos Queiroz's assistant at Real Madrid and later occupied the helms of Sporting, Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucureşti.