Although Shakhtar Donetsk hold a vital away goal in hand, courtesy of a 44th minute strike from Marlos, they will still nonetheless have to be on their guard against Rapid Wien. The Austrian side, featuring in the Champions League for the first time since the 2005/2006 campaign, shocked Dutch powerhouse Ajax to get to this point, and as we all know, one goal is not sometimes enough to ensure passage to the next stage.
Mircea Lucescu's men will be seeking to make the group stages for the sixth straight time since the 2009/2010 term and currently hold a 100 per cent win record at home against Austrian opposition, having won both of their previous meetings. The Miners, who finished in second place in their domestic league last season and are currently third, will be coming into this game having cruised past Arsenal-Kyiv 3-0 in the Ukrainian Cup. They boast a solid record overall, with just one defeat in their last 11 matches across all competitions and at the Arena Lviv, their temporary home due to security concerns, their European record stands as two wins, two draws, and one loss.
Meanwhile, their opponents also have an even more impressive record, with just one loss in their last 25 matches across all competitions, but their performances against Ukrainian teams away from home is quite poor. Out of their five matches, Rapid Wien have lost four and won just one, with their solitary win taking place back in the 1996/1997 Champions League. Interestingly, current coach Zoran Barisic was a midfielder on that squad that defeated Dynamo Kyiv 4-2 to qualify for Europe's most prestigious club tournament.
Despite this only being the second meeting between the two sides, several of the players on each team will be quite familiar to each other. In addition to goalscorer Marlos, Brazilian midfielder Taison was part of the Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv that defeated Rapid Wien 2-0 in the 2012/2013 Europa League group stage. Current Rapid Wien players Steffen Hofmann, Thomas Schrammel, and Mario Sonnleitner were part of the group that powered past their Ukrainian opponents 1-0 at home in the second part of that group stage match, which would turn out to be their only win. Metalist Kharkiv would go on to top their group with 13 points whilst Rapid Wien ended up finishing in last place with just three points.
Key Stats
- The only side to beat Shakhtar in European competition at the Arena Lviv so far was Bayern Munich, who powered past them 1-0 during last season's Champions League.
- Shakhtar's win over Rapid Wien finally broke a string of bad luck against Austrian sides on the road. Prior to the victory, the Ukrainian powerhouse had lost their last two matches in Austria by 5-1 to Austria Wien in 2002/2003 and 1-0 to FC Salzburg.
- Rapid's 3-2 win over Ajax also broke a run of poor form on the road. Prior to that, they had lost three and drawn one of their away European fixtures.
Will Shakhtar seal their spot in ths 2015/2016 Champions League group stage? Or will this season's Cinderella story Rapid Wien pull off yet another upset to earn their place among the 32 sides in Europe's top club competition for the first time in 10 years?
For all viewing information, check out our special Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Rapid Wien page for specific channels and times for where you are currently based.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
