Preview: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Atalanta BC – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

After both settled for a goalless draw Champions League Opener, Shakhtar Donetsk And Atalanta BC will be aiming for their first win in the league phase when they meet on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen.

Shakhtar face another Italian team after drawing against Bologna, while La Dea almost beat Arsenal on matchday one.

Game preview

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His eighth consecutive appearance in the actual Champions League, Shakhtar Donetsk started their last season with a goalless draw at Bologna, meaning they have won just eight of their last 37 games in Europe's top club competition.

After narrowly missing out on the knockout stages last season following a defeat on the final day of the season, they have been eliminated in the group stage for six seasons, but their stated aim for this year is to at least reach the playoffs.

Head coach Marino Pusic was appointed in October before leading Shakhtar to a 15th Ukrainian Premier League title and then winning the cup to complete a ninth domestic double, but his team has yet to manage a second consecutive win this season.

Ahead of this week's trip to Germany, where they will host their home games due to the ongoing war in their home country, the Pitmen conceded a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Veres Rivne on Friday to drop two points.

On their visit to the Stadio Dall'Ara they had scored nine goals in two league wins – against Karpaty Lviv 5-2 and Obolon Kiev 4-0 – but are only in fourth place the tablesix points behind leaders Dynamo Kyiv.

Precedent will not be in Shakhtar's side this week as they have won just eight of their last 27 European home games – no doubt partly due to Donetsk's long absence – while also remaining winless in nine games against Italian opponents .

In fact, their last such win was a 2-1 victory over Atalanta in the group stage of the 2019 Champions League, which spoiled La Dea's first home game in the competition.

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Gian Piero GasperiniUltimately, the Algeria team had the last laugh on this occasion, qualifying for the round of 16 at Shakhtar's expense by winning 3-0 in Ukraine on the final day of the match.

Of course, “Gasp” is still coach of the Bergamo club, which he led to the Europa League title last season, and they are back in the Champions League for the fourth time – each since 2019.

In their first game of the year, the Nerazzurri had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home against Arsenal as Mateo Retegui In the second half, a penalty was saved before his subsequent header fell spectacularly scratched away from David Raya.

That result was commendable in itself, but Atalanta have won just once in their last nine games at Europe's top level – and this season they have already lost to Torino, Inter Milan and Como at domestic level.

Chronic inconsistent, an equalizer in the 90th minute by the substitute Lazar Samardzic had to salvage a 1-1 draw against 10-man Bologna at the weekend and ended up in 11th place the Serie A table.

Furthermore, Gasperini's new-look side – bolstered by a number of summer recruits – have conceded 12 goals in their first six league games, having started the season with a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League form:

Shakhtar Donetsk form (all competitions):

Atalanta BC Champions League form:

Atalanta BC form (all competitions):

Team news

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Gasperini hopes to have an important defender Isak Hien was recovering from an adductor problem that caused the Swedish centre-back to miss Atalanta's draw with Bologna, but Ben Godfrey (back) and Rafael Toloi (Thighs) are still fighting for fitness.

In addition, the last rescuer Lazar Samardzic was replaced Marco Brescianini on Saturday evening after he sustained a hamstring injury; Long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca And Giorgio Scalvini (both ACL) will be on hiatus until next year.

There will be another battle for the top spots in Gelsenkirchen as Mateo Retegui could return after missing at the weekend Charles De Ketelaere And Ademola Lookman also vying for the start.

Not only did Lookman score five goals in three Europa League starts at the end of last season, but he had also scored in four consecutive Serie A games before his goal in Bologna.

Meanwhile, Shakhtar's biggest threat should come from their top scorer Artem Bondarenko – who recently scored a hat-trick against Karpaty Lviv – Georgiy Sudakov And Danylo Sikan: The latter pair have scored three goals each this season.

Ukrainian midfielder Sudakov also created the most chances (10) and completed the most passes (229) of any Shakhtar player in last year's group stage.

However, Sikan suffered a nose injury on the first day of the match, which remains questionable; Full-back Yukhym Konoplya returned to the team on Friday after picking up a knock against Bologna.

Possible starting lineup for Shakhtar Donetsk:
Riznyk; Konoplya, Matviyenko, Bondar, Pedrinho; Bondarenko, Kyrskiv; Zubkov, Sudakov, Newerton; Traore

Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Kossounou, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Samardzic, Lookman; Retegui

We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Atalanta BC

Although Shakhtar Donetsk cannot benefit from the home advantage, Atalanta usually does not travel well and has proven inconsistent this season.

The Italian team could be frustrated by a very strong opponent in Germany, so both teams may have two points from as many league phase games.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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