While Manchester United and Real Madrid will be getting all the attention on Wednesday, the othermatchup in the champions league deserves as much recognition as it features two up and coming teamsthat can compete for the title. Borussia Dortmund will visit Shakhtar Donetsk in a battle that could pushone of the two sides into a championship run.
Borussia Dortmund has been one of the best teams in the tournament with a victory atop Group D.Borussia started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Ajax. In its second match, the team blew a 1-0 leadand settled for a 1-1 draw with Manchester City. In its two straight battles with Real Madrid, Borussia defeated the Spanish giants in the first tilt by the score 2-1 and then came back from a 1-0 deficit todraw 2-2. The team them destroyed Ajax 4-1 and defeated Manchester 1-0.
The Shakhtar Donetsk side knows that this Borussia side is lethal. "Dortmund won the strongest group in this season's competition and that gives you an idea of howgood they are," said Shakhtar Coach Mircea Lucescu about their Champions League opponents."No one else in the Bundesliga plays such a passing and flowing game asDortmund."
Shakhtar has had a solid tournament as well. The team started off by defeating Danish side Nordsjaelland 2-0 and followed the victory up with a 2-2 draw against Juventus. In its first match with defending champion Chelsea, Shakhtar pulled off a stunning 2-1 win. In the return leg in England, the team lost 3-2;the two away goals would ultimately prove to be the different in qualification however. The team destroyed Nordsjaelland 5-2 in the fifth group match beforelosing 1-0 to Juventus.
Shakhtar Donetsk wins if... It plays the high pressure game that has made it sosuccessful to this point. They need to shut down Borussia's passing game andforce them into critical mistakes.
Borussia Dortmund wins if... It controls the pace throughout the game.Shakhtar will pressure intensely in Borussia's half, but the German side mustcontain the intensity and calm down the tempo.
Prediction: I think this ends in a 1-1 draw.
Start Time: 2:45 PM EST
TV Info: MSG Plus, Fox Soccer Channel
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