The German record champion comes to Gelsenkirchen

On Tuesday evening (10.12.) at 9pm, Shakhtar Donetsk will take on six-time winners FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League phase at the Arena AufSchalke. The starting position of both clubs promises an intense match, and a look at the past shows a clear favorite. 

The newly created league format of the Champions League is approaching its decisive phase - match day 6 of 8 is coming up. Shakthar Donetsk's home game at the Arena AufSchalke is probably the most attractive draw: German record champions FC Bayern Munich are coming to Gelsenkirchen. Head coach Vincent Kompany's team are in 13th place in the table, just one point away from the top eight, who qualify immediately for the round of 16. The Munich side, who have won their last two games against Paris St. Germain and Benfica Lisbon 1-0, are likely to be correspondingly ambitious. 

Shakhtar, on the other hand, have their sights set on the play-offs, from which the current 26th-placed team are two points adrift. The last clash in the top flight was extremely unlucky for the Ukrainians. Head coach Merino Pusic's team lost 3:2 at PSV Eindhoven after leading 2:0 in stoppage time, before celebrating their first win on the international stage at the Arena AufSchalke. Donetsk defeated Young Boys Bern 2:1. 

This will be the third time the Ukrainian champions have faced the German record champions. In 2015, the first two encounters took place in the first and second legs of the Champions League round of 16. After a goalless draw in Lviv, FCB ran out clear 7-0 winners in Munich. Bayern had three players in the starting eleven who had played for the Royal Blues before or after the knockout matches with Shakthar at the Arena AufSchalke. 

One of them is still the regular goalkeeper of last year's CL semi-finalists: Manuel Neuer. The now 38-year-old was a squire from 2005 to 2011 and previously spent his entire youth at S04. Full-back Rafinha, who started against Shakhtar, is also likely to bring back memories. The venomous Brazilian played for Royal Blue from 2005 to 2010. Bayern's central defender Holger Badstuber also made appearances at Berger Feld, having spent six months on loan from FCB to S04 in 2017. 

FCB's current squad includes two other former Gelsenkirchen players who have played for the home side at the Arena AufSchalke: Leroy Sane played for Schalke's licensed team in the 2015/2016 season and Leon Goretzka from 2013 to 2018. The only time a squire has made the move to Donetsk was in 2019, when Yevgen Konoplyanka joined the Ukrainians after three years in Gelsenkirchen.