Two clubs chasing UEFA Champions League glory will do battle today in a match between Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk. The group-stage match scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET will be held at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on Fox Soccer Plus.
Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu had this to offer ahead of today's European encounter (via UEFA): "Our group stage in the Champions League starts at San Mamés, where there is a great atmosphere and we hope our performance will allow us to move forward in the Champions League. We'll try to play to win and we feel the responsibility to represent our fans. But what concerns us now is the Champions League and to win at Athletic, a very strong team."
"We have analyzed Athletic, their playoff tie against Napoli and other videos," he added. "Athletic have players with some specific qualities, such as Beñat and [Ander] Iturraspe, and they know how to use them. But we believe we can draw on our experience in Champions League matches."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Athletic Bilbao's Iker Muniain has been instrumental in the club's early season success. The 21-year-old has one league goal and is averaging a staggering 5.7 take-ons per match.
Athletic Bilbao's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Iraizoz; De Marcos, San José, Laporte, Balenziaga; Iturraspe, Mikel Rico; Susaeta, Beñat, Muniain; Aduriz
Shakhtar Donetsk's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kanibolotskiy, Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Azevedo, Stepanenko, Fernando, Douglas Costa, Teixeira, Taison, Adriano
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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