This will be the first ever competitive meeting between Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk, and Antwerp's first ever meeting with Ukrainian opponents.

After losing their first ever meeting with Belgian opponents (0-1 v Club Brugge in September 1995), Shakhtar Donetsk have remained unbeaten in their last 13 such matches (W8 D5), winning the last six in a row.

Royal Antwerp have won just one of their last 10 matches in all major European competitions (excl. qualifiers – D2 L7), although that was their last at home against Olympiakos in the 2021-22 UEFA Europa League group stage. The Belgian side last won back-to-back home games in major UEFA tournaments in 1993 (v Spartak Moscow in the Cup Winners’ Cup and Marítimo in the UEFA Cup).

Royal Antwerp boss Mark van Bommel is still looking for his first win in the UEFA Champions League (P10 D4 L6). Indeed, against Barcelona last time out, he became just the sixth manager to fail to win any of his first 10 matches in the competition.

Shakhtar Donetsk lost their final group stage game in the UEFA Champions League last season (4-0 v RB Leipzig), and were beaten in their opener this season against FC Porto (3-1). The last time they lost their opening two games in a single campaign in the competition was in 2015-16, losing to Real Madrid and PSG.

Royal Antwerp lost what was their first ever UEFA Champions League match 5-0 to Barcelona on MD1; the record for most goals conceded in a team’s first two games in their competition debut is nine, by Sporting Braga in 2010-11 – Braga’s second match was a 0-3 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk (after 0-6 v Arsenal in their first).

After their defeat to Barcelona on MD1, Royal Antwerp could become the first Belgian club to lose both of their first two UEFA Champions League matches in their competition debut, with the Great Old the seventh club from the nation to participate in the tournament proper.

Against FC Porto at 19 years & 54 days of age, Kevin Kelsy became Shakhtar Donetsk’s youngest ever goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League. If he finds the net in this game, the teenager would already equal Salomón Rondón (2) as the top-scoring Venezuelan player in the competition’s history.

No side managed fewer shots (3) or touches in the opposition’s box (8) on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League than Royal Antwerp, while only 1. FC Union Berlin (0) had fewer shots on target than the Belgian club (1).

After his goal against FC Porto on MD1, Kevin Kelsy could become the first player ever to score in both of his first two UEFA Champions League appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk. He was the sixth to score on his competition debut for the Ukrainian side, after Cristiano Lucarelli, Taras Stepanenko, Maycon, Tetê, and Marian Shved.