ISTANBUL
Istanbul’s Fenerbahce are set to host Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk as Champions League fever builds ahead of the third qualifying-round first-leg matches on Tuesday.
The game at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will see Fenerbahce fans scrutinize several new star signings, including Dutch forward Robin van Persie and Portuguese winger Nani. The former Manchester United players are expected to start against Shakhtar.
The Ukrainians may lack their three Brazilian regulars in the tough clash in Istanbul. Winger Douglas Costa was transferred by Bayern Munich; striker Luiz Adriano moved to Italian Serie A club AC Milan and defensive midfielder Fernando left Shakhtar for Sampdoria this summer.
Fifteen matches will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fixtures of first legs:
Tuesday:
CSKA Moscow (Russia) - Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Milsami (Moldova) - Skenderbeu (Albania)
Midtjylland (Denmark) - APOEL (Greek Cypriot Adm.)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) - Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
Panathinaikos (Greece) - Club Brugge (Belgium)
Fenerbahce (Turkey) - Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Young Boys (Switzerland) - Monaco (France)
Videoton (Hungary) - BATE (Belarus)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) - Molde (Norway)
July 29, Wednesday:
HJK (Finland) - Astana (Kazakhstan)
Salzburg (Austria) - Malmo (Sweden)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) - Partizan (Serbia)
Celtic (Scotland) - Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
Lech Poznan (Poland) - Basel (Switzerland)
Rapid Wien (Austria) - Ajax (Netherlands)
