Shakhtar Donetsk vs Roma preview - Lucescu braced for Roma response

Posted Tuesday, March 08, 2011 by PA

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu has warned his players to expect a tough battle as they attempt to make club history again against Roma on Tuesday night.

Shakhtar are already in unchartered waters, having never previously been to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, but now they stand on the brink of the quarter-finals after winning the first leg of this tie 3-2 in Rome.

"They need to score, and, naturally, they will be playing attacking football," Lucescu said of Roma.

"Accordingly, our game will be different. We should expect a very difficult game. For them, it will be a match in which they can save their season. For us, it will be a future that we have been waiting for."

One issue Lucescu does need to keep on top of is the mental state of his players, and he admitted he had to substitute some players during the weekend's 1-0 win over Sevastopol because their minds were already on this game.

"It was evident that some players already had their thoughts on the match against the Italians, so I replaced them," he said.

"Let us hope that their performance on Tuesday will be very different."

Lucescu also revealed that the game will come too soon for Fernandinho, although he is close to a return.

For Roma, this is indeed a game in which they will attempt to save their season.

The Champions League is all they have left in a disappointing season that has claimed the job of coach Claudio Ranieri since the first leg.

Vincenzo Montella will be in charge on Tuesday, and believes his team can upset the odds, despite Shakhtar's impressive record of never having lost at the Donbass Arena since it opened in 2009.

"I saw the first leg at home on TV," Montella said.

"Roma started well but then had 10 minutes of madness. They were able to react again and were equals.

"Shakhtar have quality players but they are a team that can be beaten. I am optimistic because Roma is growing.

"They have not lost at home in 60 games so they have quality, but we know this and will find the counter-measures."

Roma will be playing only days before the derby against Lazio, but captain Francesco Totti insisted they would think about that later.

"Montella has come in and changed our form," he said.

"We have returned to patterns we know well. The derby is important, but now we play in Europe."

Adriano has been forced to pull out of the Roma squad for this match with flu.