Match facts ahead of #SHKBMG

All the important stats and facts ahead of Tuesday’s away game (18:55 CET) in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Spectators:

• The game in the Kiev Olympic Stadium will be played behind closed doors after the local health authorities revoked their original permission for fans due to the ongoing pandemic situation in the Ukraine.

Head-to-head record:

• This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
• The Foals last faced an opponent from Ukraine in 2012/13. Borussia took on Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League play-offs, losing 3-1 at home before winning 2-1 in the second leg, ultimately failing to qualify for the group stages and therefore playing in the Europa League that season instead.
• Borussia had previously faced Dynamo Kiev in the semi-finals of 1976/77 European Cup. The Foals lost 1-0 away in the first leg, before beating the Ukrainians 2-0 at home to reach the final, where they went on to lose 3-1 to Liverpool.

Statistics:

• Borussia are second in their group after two matchdays with two points on the board after drawing 2-2 against both Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
• The Foals have won two of their last five European encounters (D2, L1).
• In the last five 15 games, Borussia have only recorded three wins (D8, L4).
• Gladbach are on a six-game unbeaten run away from home in Europe (W2, D4). The last loss on the road came on matchday 6 of the 2016/17 Champions League group stages (4-0 at Barcelona).
• Shakhtar qualified for the group stages by winning the Ukrainian top flight, their 13th title in total and fourth in a row.
• Shakhtar, who reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2010/11, are taking part in the group stages for the 15th time, but they have failed to reach the next round on 10 previous occasions.
• Shakhtar are top of the group with four points after winning 3-2 in Madrid on matchday one and drawing at home to Inter 0-0.
• Despite winning in Madrid on the opening matchday, they have only won three of their last 15 UEFA Champions League games (D7, L5).
• A 2-1 win over Benfica in the first leg of the last 32 in the UEFA Europa League last season ended a run of seven European home games without a win for Shakhtar (D4, L3), having won each of their four home games prior to this – all in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League.

Officials:

• Serdar Gözübüyük from Haarlem in the Netherlands will be the referee. The 35-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2012 and has taken charge of two Champions League and five Champions League qualifying games, as well as 18 Europa League games, including the Foals’ 1-0 win at Wolfsberger AC last season.
• His compatriots Joost van Zuilen and Johan Balder will be his assistants, while Allard Lindhout is the fourth official and Pol Van Boekel is on VAR duty.

Social media:

• Fans can follow the game online by using the hashtag #SHKBMG, or by following Borussia’s English-language social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo: imago images/ Vitalii Kliuiev