Anything but a win effectively knocks Nordsjaellend out of Champions League on Tuesday, though they’re essentially just fighting to play spoiler at this point anyway. It’s difficult to conceive a scenario in which they make up their current defect on the three teams above them enough to finish anywhere but bottom of the group, but that won’t stop them from trying to shake things up against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Nordsjaelland vs. Shakhtar Donetsk: Preview and TV schedule
Nordsjaelland aren’t going to the Champions League knockout round. They’re almost certainly not going to make the Europa League either. But they can play spoiler by denying Shakhtar victory on Tuesday.
Following their disappointing loss this weekend -- their first domestically this season -- Shakhtar will likely come out a motivated team instead of one that is complacent, and expecting a win against lesser opposition. With Chelsea and Juventus doing battle in Turin and the Old Lady coming to Ukraine in the next round, Shakhtar will see this as a must-win game to feel like they’re in position to qualify from Group E.
FC Nordsjaelland injuries and suspensions
Out: Andreas Laudrup, Mikkel Beckman
Shakhtar Donetsk injuries and suspensions
Out: Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Tomáš Hübschman.
Chygrynskiy returned from injury recently, but picked up a new thigh injury this weekend. Hübschman’s problem is a similar one, and he should be replaced by Taras Stepanenko. Laudrup has been one of Nordsjaelland’s strongest players this year, and their chances of an upset are significantly diminished with him out of the lineup.
Match Date\Time: Tuesday, 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m ET
Venue: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
TV: DirecTV Soccer (U.S.), Sky Sports red button (U.K.) Kanal 5 (Ukraine), TV3 + (Denmark)
Online: Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.), Sportsnet World Online (Canada)
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