Shakhtar Donestk – Chelsea
Chelsea coach Di Matteo emphasised the quality of the Shakhtar coach, Mircea Lucescu who managed three clubs in Italy, including during the time Di Matteo was a Lazio player.
‘I remember watching his teams a lot in the past and he has always played with the same philosophy,’ said the Chelsea manager.
‘Quick, possession football and you can see Shakhtar Donetsk want to play out from the back with the goalkeeper and with a lot of tactically good and fast players. He is an excellent coach with a lot of experience and he has done extremely well here at Shakhtar. Go to sports betting for Chelsea at Top Bet
Lucescu, in his pre-match press conference, discussed a past Chelsea offer to buy Shakhtar’s Brazilian winger Willian. Di Matteo had a say on the player too.
‘As an assistant [at the time] I wasn’t involved in those conversations but Willian is a fantastic player with good qualities. We have a good squad with good players and I don’t know where his future is, but the way he is playing here he looks quite happy.’
Lille LOSC – Bayern Munich
President Uli Hoeneß will join the FCB delegation on the day of the match, in which the Bavarians face the side who finished third in Ligue 1 last season. Coach Rudi Garcia’s team have made a patchy start this term and occupy a mid-table position. And the Mastiffs are in trouble in the Champions League, as they lie bottom of Group F with no points from two games.
That did not stop boss Jupp Heynckes issuing a stern warning. “Let’s not be deceived by their position in the table. This is a top French club,” he declared. The 67-year-old praised Lille’s “good shape and incredible fighting spirit. We’ll need an above average performance if we’re to win and get back on track in Europe.”
Manchester United -Sporting Braga
Sir Alex Ferguson will sit out Evra and Ferdinand – “I’m not playing Rio tomorrow,” explained Sir Alex. “We have a game on Sunday against Chelsea and it’s a big one for us so I’m leaving a couple of players out. Rio and Patrice Evra are the older players – those are the two main changes for tomorrow. Other than that we’ve got a big squad.
“We’ve got Ashley Young back and he’ll be involved tomorrow. We’ve got Nani, Valencia, Giggs… plenty of wide players. Of course, we also have plenty of central midfield players. So I have an issue in terms of picking the team. Hopefully I get it right.
“Shinji Kagawa didn’t play on Saturday so he can prepare for tomorrow. Also, Stoke’s a different team to any other side he’s played. But mainly it was to give him a rest before tomorrow.”
Follow also more Champions League action with Barcelona – Celtic Glasgow and Nordsjälland – Juventus. For complete coverage, see at UEFA.com
