Match Previews

Shakhtar looking for priceless away goal against fierce rivals Dynamo. Veteran coach, Mircea Lucescu has full complement of players available for historic all Ukrainian semi. Mykola Ischenko (sp) (def) is back from suspension. Full squad announced... For the first time in UEFA Cup history a Ukrainian side is guaranteed a spot in the final of Europe's second competition. For either Dynamo or Shakhtar will have the honour of representing their country in what will be the last ever UEFA Cup before the tournament is rebranded as the Europa League next season. With such a strong rivalry between these two opponents, the double legged Semi-Final is sure to contribute to an exciting tie. Shakhtar have started to find form at the right stage of the season with the nation's second club unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions. A 1-0 home win over Chornomorets Odesa on Saturday ensured that Lucescu's men increased the gap over Metalist Kharkiv to solidify second place, way behind league leaders and Thursday's opponents. Both teams will know one another quite well having met a total of 135 times, not all this season. Indeed the Donetsk outfit could draw inspiration from their 2004 success at the Valeri Lobanovskiy stadium when they snatched a 2-0 win in a heated encounter with four men sent off. Discipline could be a major factor in both legs with no less than five Shakhtar players only a booking away from missing the next match. None will want to miss a potentially crucial second leg let alone the final should they make it. League form will go out of the window for these European encounters but if they can play like the way they did against Marseille in the last round then a good first leg result could be in the offing in Kiev this Thursday.