Shakhtar Donetsk will stage their Champions League league-phase meeting with AEK Athens at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 14 October, with the Ukrainian champions again carrying their European home programme away from Ukraine because of the war.
A displaced home tie in London
The match is part of the second round of the league phase, giving Shakhtar another major continental night in temporary surroundings rather than at their own stadium.
- Fixture: Shakhtar Donetsk vs AEK Athens
- Competition: Champions League, league phase
- Matchday: second round
- Date: Wednesday 14 October
- Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
Shakhtar arrive as reigning Ukrainian champions, having won the title last season under head coach Arda Turan. The Turkish former midfielder has shaped a side containing a significant Brazilian contingent, continuing a long-standing feature of the club’s recruitment and playing identity.
Arda Turan’s European test
Turan’s appointment placed a familiar name from Spain’s biggest stages in charge of Shakhtar. The former Atlético Madrid and Barcelona player now takes his Ukrainian champions into a meeting with an AEK team led in attack by a former Real Madrid forward.
That striker is AEK’s principal attacking reference point for the trip to London, where the Greek side will seek a result against a club accustomed to navigating both domestic expectations and the unusual demands of exile in Europe.
A wider second-matchday programme
The Shakhtar-AEK fixture forms part of Wednesday’s Champions League schedule, with Real Madrid and Real Betis also facing difficult assignments as they attempt to preserve perfect starts to the league phase.
- Shakhtar are defending Ukrainian champions.
- They are playing Champions League home matches at Stamford Bridge due to the war in Ukraine.
- AEK travel with a former Real Madrid player as their leading offensive figure.
- Real Madrid and Real Betis are both aiming to remain unbeaten at the start of the league phase.
