Ukranian champions Shakhtar Donetsk have kicked-off their first knockout round appearance in UEFA Champions League, visiting a Roma side that, after a disappointing weekend loss to Napoli, will play the match in front of an every disillusioned set of fans. With a number of empty seats visitable at the Olimpic Stadium, Roma will be tasked with downing a Shakhtar side that outdistanced Arsenal and Sporting Braga to win their group.
Roma Vs. Shakhtar Donetsk: Kick-Off At The Stadio Olimpico, Lineups
To try and do so, Claudio Ranieri has started all of Francesco Totti, Mirko Vucinic and Jeremy Menez, with a hobble Marco Boriello only fit enough for the bench. Rodrigo Taddei will support the attack, with Simone Perotta and Daniele de Rossi following-up from midfield. At the back. Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso partner in central defense, pushing Juan to the bench. They're flanked by John Arne Risse and Marco Cassetti. Doni is in goal in place of the injured Julio Sergio.
For Shakhtar, Luiz Adriano will lead their 4-2-3-1, with Jadson playing in support. He is flanked by Douglas Costa on the right and WIllian on the left, the four Brazilians leaving no room for Eduardo. The pivot features Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Tomas Hubschman in front of captain Darijo Srna, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, and Razvan Rat. Adnriy Pyatov is in goal.
Early on, Roma has seen the better of possession, packing Shakhtar back so their defensive formation becomes two flat lines of four. But the bast chance of the match came in the 11th minute, when a Srna spot kick from 23 yards forced Doni to push the ball over the bar for a corner.
Now 12 minutes into the first half, Roma and Shakhtar are still scoreless.
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