Facts and stats ahead of #BMGSHK

All the important facts and stats before the Foals take on Shakhtar Donetsk at home in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening (18:55 CET).

Spectators:

• The Foals will have to play against Shakhtar Donetsk in an empty BORUSSIA-PARK. That’s because the local incidence rate, which represents the number of new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people in the last seven days, is currently 148.3 in Mönchengladbach. That number must be below 35 if fans are to attend, but it has been exceeded by some margin for several weeks now. Borussia are acting in line with the instructions of the local health authorities and local government.
• From 2nd November, the German government agreed with each state that professional sports events would have to take place without fans until at least the end of November. That is part of a package of measures introduced in reaction to the exponential increase in coronavirus cases.

Head-to-head record:

• The reverse fixture in Kiev was the first time the two sides have ever met. Borussia won the game, on matchday 3 of the Champions League group stage, 6-0.
• Before that game, the Foals’ last encounter with a side from Ukraine was in 2012/13, when they faced Dynamo Kiev in the play-offs for the UEFA Champions League. After losing 3-1 at home, Borussia won the second leg 2-1 in Kiev, meaning they didn’t qualify for the Champions League and instead qualified for the Europa League.
• Borussia met Dynamo Kiev in the semi-finals of the 1976/77 European Cup. Borussia lost the first leg 1-0 but turned things around with a 2-0 home win to reach the final. They were unable to get past Liverpool, though, who won 3-1.

Statistics:

• The 6-0 win in the reverse fixture in Kiev was Borussia’s biggest win in the UEFA Champions League. It was also Shakhtar’s biggest home defeat in European competition. 
• The Foals are top of Group B after three matches with five points. Real Madrid and Shakhtar have four each, whilst Inter Milan have two. 
• It’s Borussia’s third appearance in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. In both 2015/16 and 2016/17, they failed to get out of the group; first, they came bottom of the group, and twelve months later they were third and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. That campaign ended against Schalke in the round of 16 (1-1 away, 2-2 at home).
• The Foals have won three of their last six games in Europe (two draws, one defeat), but they’ve only won four of their last 16 (eight draws, four losses).
• Borussia were in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League, but they didn’t progress past the group stage. Marco Rose’s side came third behind Istanbul Başakşehir and AS Roma after two wins, two draws and two defeats.
• The 4-3 loss in Leverkusen was the Foals’ only loss in their last ten competitive games (four wins, five draws).
• Shakhtar qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after winning the league in Ukraine. It was their 13th domestic title and their fourth in a row.
• Shakhtar began this season’s Champions League campaign with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid, before drawing 0-0 with Inter Milan and suffering a heavy loss against Borussia.
• It’s Shakhtar’s 15th appearance in the Champions League. They made it to the quarter finals in 2010/11, but have gone out in the group stage in ten of their 14 appearances to date, including their last two. 
• Despite their opening-day win against Madrid, Shakhtar have won just three of their last 16 games in the UEFA Champions League (seven draws, six defeats).
• Not including two matches at neutral venues last year, Shakhtar are unbeaten in six away games in European competitions (three wins, three draws).

Officials:

• Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakır is in charge of the game. The 44-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2006 and has refereed 61 Champions League matches. 
• Çakır was in charge in 2016/17 when Borussia drew 1-1 with Manchester City in the Champions League group stage. Raffael had given the Foals the lead (23’), but David Silva scored an equaliser (45+1’).
• Çakır’s assistants on Wednesday will be fellow countrymen Bahattin Duran and Tarik Ongun. The fourth official will be Halil Umut Meler, and Abdulkadir Bitigen is in charge of VAR.

Social Media:

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