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"Shakhtar" Donetsk does not hide ambitions to step into the Champions League semi-finals, but Ukrainians will have to present a big surprise - in the quarterfinals they will face the powerful "Barcelona". "Barcelona" - Donetsk "Shakhtar" "Camp Nou" Stadium, Barcelona 21:45 Lithuania time Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland) Broadcast: Viasat Sport Baltic (live) "Shakhtar's" season is going well - the club convincingly leads the Ukrainian championship and is 12 points ahead of their fiercest rival Kiev's "Dynamo", and in the Champions League Group H they left London's "Arsenal" behind with 15 points. However, in the English capital, the Donetsk team lost 1-5, and a similar scenario repeating in Catalonia would mean the end of the season in Europe even before the second leg. In the round of 16, the Ukrainian team eliminated "Roma" with a total score of 6-2 and has not lost at their stadium yet, so the main task in the first leg will be to hold on and hope to determine the fate of the ticket to the semi-finals on April 12 in Donetsk. "Barcelona" coach Pep Guardiola has already admitted that the fact that the second leg will take place away is not convenient, but the Spanish champions remain the clear favorites of the tie. However, there are other concerns: on Wednesday, two key defenders - Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal - will not be able to take to the field, and Lionel Messi played only 38 minutes in the last match and did not train at all on Monday. Meanwhile, "Shakhtar" hopes that last year's Barcelona's midfielder Dimitro Chygrynskyi will return to the lineup. Interestingly, in December 2008, the Donetsk club has already celebrated a victory at "Camp Nou" - back then, the visitors won 3-2. However, the last meeting - a match for the European Super Cup - eight months later in Monaco ended with a 1-0 victory for "Barcelona".
