Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla face tough away trips in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 ties with one foot already in the door through to the quarter-finals but with just 90 minutes separating them from two of the tournaments major upsets so far this season.
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, March 13th
Roma (1) vs (2) Shakhtar
Man United (0) vs (0) Sevilla
Both matches to kick-off at 19:45 (7:45pm) GMT
AS Roma (1) vs (2) Shakhtar Donetsk
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Roma welcome Shakhtar to the Italian capital on Tuesday evening needing to register a first victory over their Ukranian opponents since September 2006. Shakhtar have now won the last four matches in a row against Roma since that solitary defeat to them in the group stages of the competition 12 years ago including an impressive come-from-behind 2-1 three weeks ago to ensure that they hold the crucial advantage heading into the second leg. Facundo Ferreyra and Fred were on target for the Miners although Cengiz Under scored what could prove to be a vital away goal for the Yellow and Reds.
AS Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk head-to-head:
Played: 5
Roma Wins: 1
Draws: 0
Shakhtar Wins: 4
Roma Goals: 7
Shakhtar Goals: 9
Shakhtar, aiming to make the last-eight for the first time since 2011, have won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions, a run that has seen Paulo Foncesca’s men brilliantly beat the likes of Manchester City and Roma along the way, scoring an incredible 32 goals in the process, conceding just six as they reached the semi-finals of the Ukranian Cup as well as the play-offs for the Ukranian Premier League.
Roma currently find themselves third in Serie A after a mixed season domestically saw them crash out of the Coppa Italia back in December after a home defeat to Torino signalled the start of a seven-match winless run in all competitions. Following defeat in Kharkiv, Eusebio Di Francesco’s side suffered a 2-0 home defeat to AC Milan but bounced back brilliantly with back-to-back wins over Napoli and Torino respectively.
AS Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk recent results:
21/02/2018 – Shakhtar 2-1 Roma
08/03/2011 – Shakhtar 3-0 Roma
16/02/2011 – Roma 2-3 Shakhtar
22/11/2006 – Shakhtar 1-0 Roma
12/09/2006 – Roma 4-0 Shakhtar
Manchester United (0) vs (0) Sevilla
Old Trafford, Manchester
Sevilla are aiming to avoid being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by English opposition at the last-16 stage for the second season running. After losing to Leicester City last year, Sevilla were rewarded with an even bigger tie in 2018 against last season’s Europa League winners, Manchester United. The Red Devils are still searching for a first-ever victory against the Spanish giants following a goalless stalemate in the first leg. Their only other meeting ended 3-1 to Sevilla when the pair faced-off in a pre-season friendly in 2013.
Manchester United vs Sevilla head-to-head:
Played: 2
Man United Wins: 0
Draws: 1
Sevilla Wins: 1
Man United Goals: 1
Sevilla Goals: 3
Jose Mourinho saw his United side prepare for this midweek encounter with a trio of telling fixtures against Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Liverpool in the weeks since their disappointing draw in Spain. They passed all three tests with flying colours, picking up maximum points in the process, twice coming from behind, against the Blues and the Eagles respectively, to cement second place in the Premier League behind Man City.
Los Rojiblancos have won two and lost two of their four matches since their shutout against United as they slipped further off the pace for Champions League qualification next season. They are fifth at the minute, 11 points behind Valencia in fourth with just 10 matches of the campaign left to play.
Manchester United vs Sevilla recent results:
21/02/2018 – Sevilla 0-0 Man United
09/08/2013 – Sevilla 3-1 Man United