Shakhtar Donetsk have already qualified to the next stage of the tournament, but the situation in the group is still relatively delicate. If the outcome of this game is a draw, Juventus will finish second and the current champions will have to say goodbye to the Champions League. Furthermore, if the guests win this match, they will replace Shakhtar in the first position and enjoy the advantage of winning the group. However, after the fabulous performance of the hosts in this severe group, it is unlikely that they will hand out the first place easily. Rafa Benitez is certanly hoping for Shakhtar to win, which will give Chelsea the opportunity to take the second place in the group. The Champions League is a specialty of Rafa Benitez and after the poor results in the Premier League, the strongest tournament in the world remains a great option for Londoners to please their supporters.
Knowing that the point will guarantee them the first place in the group, the hosts might not start so aggresive as usual. The same goes for the guests who will come out with the clear goal not to lose this game. The meeting will definitely be interesting, though, it seems that both teams will strive more for the draw rather than to win. The champions of Italy will undoubtedly try to provide a good defensive formation in order to break the effective attack of Shakhtar.
Juventus are unbeaten in their last 5 matches of the Champions League. In 5 of their last 6 games of the tournament, the players of Shakhtar have scored at least two goals. Furthermore, in their three previous matches there were over 2.5 goals. The main forward of the hosts Luiz Adriano misses this match, as he was suspended by UEFA for unsportsmanlike play. For Juventus Claudio Marchisio is suspended as he has accumulated three yellow cards. Both teams do not have serious problems with injured players as the only doubtful footballers to take part in this match are - Tomás Hübschman and Dmytro Chygrynskiy.
The draw in this game will throw Chelsea out of the tournament and both teams` approach to this match will be qurious to observe. On the one hand, we can assume that this game is a direct battle for first place in the group and on the other that it can be be a tedious setup to eliminate Chelsea. A lot of times have we witnessed such a boring draws, however, this is a match of the Champions League and it is unlikely that both teams will not give their best for the win.