JUST IN: ‘New’ kick-off time for Borussia Dortmund vs. Shakhtar Donetsk, TV channel, prediction, team news, lineups, scores, odds, referee, and VAR.

Borussia Dortmund will hope to qualify automatically for the Champions

League round of 16 when they welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.

Dortmund are 14th with 12 points and have qualified for the playoffs at minimum

despite their 2-1 loss against Bologna on January 21, whereas their opponents are in

27th place with seven points and have a slim chance of qualifying for the round of 16 playoffs.

Match preview

BVB’s defeat against Bologna – a match in which they only produced 0.2 xG and

surrendered their one-goal lead when they conceded twice between the 71st and

72nd minutes – proved to be Nuri Sahin’s final game as boss.

Dortmund are six places and one point from the final automatic qualification spot for the

round of 16, but while they need results to go their way in the upcoming final matchweek,

they do have better goal difference than the six teams above them.

Only Barcelona have scored more than BVB’s 19 goals in the Champions League,

though they have conceded five goals in their last two games in Europe and have

shipped 13 in their past five matches in all competitions.

Caretaker manager Mike Tullberg took charge of the side on Saturday against

Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, overseeing a spirited 2-2 draw after his team

were reduced to 10 men in the 21st minute when the score was 0-0.

Tullberg’s team are in dire form having lost four and drawn one of their five most

recent outings, while winning one, drawing three and succumbing to defeat in their prior five.

The hosts are winless in their last five fixtures at home – drawing three and losing

two – but it should be noted that their 3-2 defeat against Barcelona on December 11

was their only loss at Signal Iduna Park in their past 14 at home in the Champions League.

Shakhtar Donetsk managed to beat Brest 2-0 in the Champions League on January 22,

creating four big chances while facing none themselves.

The Miners are currently three points from 24th-placed Stuttgart, who occupy the final

round of 16 playoff spot, and are in fact also three points from 21st-placed Benfica.

Head coach Marino Pusic will be concerned that his team conceded eight goals in the two

European games prior to their victory against Brest, and they have only created 13 big

chances in seven matches – the 24th-best record in the Champions League.

Shakhtar have been beaten in five, held to a stalemate in one and triumphed in just two of

their last eight outings in the tournament, and they have also been defeated in three of their six most recent matches in all competitions.

The visitors’ record on the road has been poor in the past weeks considering they have

lost three of their last four away from home and have lost eight of their last 12 away fixtures in the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:
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Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
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Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League form:
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Shakhtar Donetsk form (all competitions):
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