Opposition watch | Shakhtar Donetsk

Ange Postecoglou's first match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is fast approaching with Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk our penultimate pre-season opponents on Sunday (2pm). We then travel to Barcelona on Tuesday (7pm UK) before the big kick-off in the Premier League at Brentford on Sunday week (13 August, 2pm).

It's a match dedicated to the people of Ukraine - the Club is raising funds for Shakhtar’s charitable foundation, Shakhtar Social, in support of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as a result of the armed conflict with Russia.

Crowned champions for the 14th time last season - here's what to look out for when Hirnyky (The Miners) step out in N17...

Form

Shakhtar Donetsk opened their 2023/24 Ukrainian Premier League campaign with a win against Metalist on Saturday, but were held 1-1 by Veres Rivne in their second match on Wednesday. Shakhtar took the lead through Mykola Matviyenkjo in first half added time but Ukraine Under-21 skipper Artem Bondarenko was sent off moments later and the 10 men were pegged back by Evgenly Shevchenko's equaliser. Before that, Shakhtar played a number of friendlies, including defeats at Ajax and AEK Athens and a draw against AZ Alkmaar.

Manager - Patrick van Leeuwen

Appointed this summer, van Leeuwen's injury-hit playing career ended at the age of 27. Already taking a path in coaching, he took youth roles at Feyenoord (2000-2006), Shakhtar Donetsk (2006-2013) and was then youth director at Maccabi Tel Aviv (2016-2020) before taking the step into senior management at Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zorya Luhansk in Ukraine and he's now back with the Miners, 10 years after departing.

Players to watch

Artem Bondarenko captained Ukraine Under-21s to the semi-finals of this summer's UEFA Under-21 Finals. An attacking midfielder, he weighed in with nine goals in 28 appearances in the Ukraine Premier League last term. Centre-back/left-back Mykola Matviyenkjo and defensive midfielder Taras Stepanenko are regulars for the Ukraine national team, both lined-up against England and Wembley in March. Powerful forward Lassina Traore scored eight goals in 18 matches for Ajax in 2020/21 before moving to Shakhtar in 2021.

Last time we met

Shakhtar Donetsk got the better of us over two legs in the third round of the UEFA Cup in 2008/09. Fielding the likes of Fernandinho, who would later win the lot at Manchester City and William, now of Fulham, ex of Chelsea and Arsenal, Shakhtar beat us 2-0 in the first leg in Ukraine before a 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Lane saw them home 3-1 on aggregate. Giovani dos Santos gave us hope of turning things around in the second leg, but Fernandinho struck late to secure victory for the Miners, who went on to win it - beating CSKA Moscow, Marseille, Dynamo Kiev and then Werder Bremen in the final.

How to watch

Sunday's match will be televised live on SPURSPLAY, our home of exclusive live and on-demand video content. Join us for the build-up from the stadium from 1.40pm before Club commentator Rob Daly and legendary former striker and top pundit Clive Allen take over for kick-off at 2pm.

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