Manchester United will look to build on their unbeaten start in Group A and inflict more misery on Real Sociedad when the teams meet for the first ever time at Old Trafford on matchday three, while Bayer Leverkusen will look to give Group A leaders FC Shakhtar Donetsk another unhappy evening on German soil when teams meet at the BayArena.
What to expect from the Matches
Shakhtar’s UEFA Champions League hopes crumbled with a 3-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund in last season’s last 16 but return to Germany buoyed by a positive start this term, having already won at Real Sociedad and drawn with Manchester United. Leverkusen will be looking to build on their matchday two win over La Real – and leapfrog Shakhtar in the process.
Leverkusen have an unbeaten home record against Ukrainian opposition, even if they took just one point from Metalist Kharkiv in last season’s UEFA Europa League group stage, drawing 0-0 at home and losing 2-0 away. Leverkusen’s overall home record against Ukrainian sides is W3 D2 L0. Leverkusen’s matchday two win over Real Sociedad was their seventh in a row in home matches in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, including their 2011/12 and 2004/05 campaigns. Shakhtar’s most recent victory on German soil came at VfB Stuttgart in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage, Fernandinho and Ciprian Marica earning a 2-0 win. The Ukrainian side’s overall record in Germany is: W2 D1 L3.
Jagoba Arrastate’s bottom-placed side are still searching for their first points in Group A after defeats by Shakhtar Donetsk and Bayer Leverkusen – the latter loss cruelly inflicted by an added-time goal in Germany. To retain realistic hope of progress in their first UEFA Champions League campaign in a decade, La Real will need to take something from their trip to Manchester yet United will have other ideas as they look to build on their unbeaten start.
United will hope their 4-2 opening Group A home victory over Leverkusen marked a return to winning ways at Old Trafford, where their form in UEFA competition had been uncharacteristically shaky with four defeats from their previous six fixtures. The English title holders have lost their last two home games against Spanish opposition, going down 2-1 to Real Madrid CF in last season’s round of 16 and succumbing 3-2 to Athletic Club at the same stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League. United have won only one of their last six Old Trafford fixtures against Liga visitors – the 1-0 UEFA Champions League semi-final success over FC Barcelona in 2008. Their overall home record against Spanish opponents is W8 D9 L4. La Real are making only their second trip to England and will certainly want to fare better than on their first – when they crashed to a 6-0 defeat at Liverpool FC in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup second round.
Player to watch out for
Robin van Persie (Manchester United): van Persie has now scored in ten consecutive UEFA Champions League seasons and has scored 14 goals in his last 17 games in all competitions for United. He will once again be the focal point of the United attack.
Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk): The Brazilian arrived in Ukraine in the summer to replace Dortmund bound playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and has had an impact since then. He will most certainly be the man to watch.
Predicted Score lines & Starting line ups
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen have some good attacking options, but lack a bit at the back, and that may prove to be the difference against a strong Shakhtar side.
Real Sociedad 1-3 Manchester United
Real Sociedad look like the most likely candidate to finish last in the group, and look unlikely to get even a point at home against a United team that looks strong on paper.