Apparently both sides have elected to show up despite this match being a foregone conclusion. Shakhtar Donetsk are four goals down against Barcelona, who are widely considered to be the best side in the world, and even the Ukrainian's formidable home record isn't going to result in the Catalans being knocked out here. So, while everyone else is focused on Old Trafford and the Manchester United-Chelsea match, we'll be having what is essentially a glorified friendly in Donetsk.
Shakhtar Donetsk Vs. FC Barcelona, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Lineups
Despite being given the opportunity to rest some of his biggest players, Pep Guardiola has opted to field more or less everyone available to him (Andres Iniesta is suspended), including Lionel Messi. Shakhtar start with their strongest possible squad, although their defence could probably best be described as 'makeshift'.
Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Andriy Pyatov; Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Mykola Ischenko, Vasyl Kobin; Tomas Hubschman, Henrikh Mkhitaryan; Willian, Jadson, Douglas Costa; Luiz Adriano.
Substitutes: Eduardo, Fernandinho, Alex Teixeira, Rustam Khudzhamov, Olixey Gay, Marcelo Moreno, Sergey Krivtsov.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Victor Valdes; Adriano, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves; Javier Mascherano, Xavi, Seydou Keita; Ibrahim Afellay, Lionel Messi, David Villa.
Substitutes: Gabriel Milito, Maxwell, Pedro, Tiago, Fontas, Jeffren Suarez, Jose Manuel Pinto.
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