Although Shakhtar Donetsk fans will have been disappointed to see their side exit the Champions League at the group stage, the Miners have made up for this by their solid showings so far in the Europa League. Since dropping down into Europe's second-tier competitions, Mircea Lucescu's men have thrived. The Ukrainian powerhouse, who are presently second in the Ukrainian Premier League behind Dynamo Kiev, have yet to lose in any of their Europa League matches.
With the exception of an opening 0-0 draw to Schalke, Shakhtar have picked up three straight wins, whilst recording a 3-0 aggregate win over Schalke in the round of 32 and then a 4-1 total victory against Anderlecht in the round of 16. The Miners are just one of two sides remaining out of the eight who transferred into the Champions League; the other team being Sevilla.
Despite this being their first appearance in the Europa League quarter-finals since 2009, the last time Shakhtar reached this stage, they ended up winning the competition. Still, Portuguese outfit Sporting Braga will be doing their best to frustrate and thwart Lucescu's side's ambitions to reach the semi-finals, and the two sides are not entirely unfamiliar to each other. This will be the first meeting between Shakhtar and their Portuguese hosts since the 2010/2011 Champions League group stage, in which the Ukrainians beat Sporting Braga both home and away, to top the group.
However, despite finishing third, Sporting Braga managed to make it to that season's Europa League final, where they were dispatched by another Portuguese side - Porto. Overall, they have a poor record against Ukrainian sides. Not only have they scored just once in their past four games but they have yet to win a match, with two draws, and two losses to date.
Shakhtar, on the other hand, have a fair, but not spectacular track record against Portuguese teams. Out of their past 14 matches, they have won four, drawn four, and lost six, and will be hoping to make it a fifth win - and fourth in Portugal - on Thursday evening. Unfortunately for Lucescu, he will be without the services of midfielder Fred and defender Oleksandr Kucher due to suspension. In addition, the visitors will also not be able to call on two additional defenders: Márcio Azevedo misses out due to injury, and Yaroslav Rakytskyi is in doubt for this match.
Which channel is broadcasting Sporting Braga vs Shakhtar Donetsk on TV or Online?
- In the USA at 15.05 EST on: Fox Soccer 2GO USA, ESPN3 USA
- In Ukraine at 22.05 EET on: Futbol 1, OLL.tv, Kanal 5 Ukrania
- In the UK at 20.05 BST on: BT Sport Live Streaming
- In Canada at 15.05 ET on: beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada
- In Portugal at 20.05 WET on: SIC
If you live elsewhere, feel free to check out the Sporting Braga vs Shakhtar Donetsk broadcast page for additional info.
*Note: Live broadcast data is subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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