Overview
PSV Eindhoven enters the 2026-2027 Champions League as the reigning Eredivisie champion. Coach Peter Bosz's team is aiming for a more successful European campaign after stopping right in the League Phase last season.
In the 2025-2026 season, PSV only won 2 out of 8 matches in the Champions League, drew 2 and lost 4, ranking 28th and not qualifying for the knockout round. This is also the 20th time the Dutch representative has participated in the number one European arena, setting a new record for Dutch football.
PSV does not have a good record in the opening matches of the Champions League as they have lost 5 consecutive matches. The last time they won the opening match was in the 2015-2016 season, when they defeated Manchester United 2-1 at home.
Home field form in the Champions League is also something that PSV is worried about. They lost 4 of their last 5 matches at Eindhoven and conceded 17 goals. However, the red and white team still has a foothold from their head-to-head record when they have won all 3 of their last matches against Ukrainian representatives in the Champions League.
PSV entered the match against Shakhtar Donetsk with excitement after a 5-match unbeaten streak in the Eredivisie, including 4 wins and 1 draw. After crushing Utrecht 6-1, Peter Bosz's team continued to defeat Ajax 3-1 right on the away field to rise to second place in the rankings.
On the other side, Shakhtar Donetsk is also preparing to enter their 20th Champions League season in history, the most among Ukrainian clubs. Coach Arda Turan's team won the 16th national championship last season and is only one title behind Dynamo Kiev in the history of the tournament.
Due to the war situation in Ukraine, Shakhtar continues to play Champions League home matches at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. The receptions of AEK Athens, Sporting Lisbon, Fenerbahce and Real Madrid will all take place in London.
Shakhtar did not participate in the Champions League last season and was also eliminated in the Europa League qualifiers, but they made an impression when they reached the Conference League semi-finals before stopping against Crystal Palace with a total score of 2-5.
The Ukrainian representative also has a fairly stable record in the European arena recently. They have only lost 2 in the last 8 matches in European tournaments, winning 5 and drawing 1. Against Dutch teams, Shakhtar has also only lost 2 in the last 7 encounters, with a record of 3 wins and 2 draws.
In the domestic arena, Shakhtar started the season positively when they won 4 of the first 5 matches in the Ukrainian Premier League. Last weekend, they just reversed the score to defeat Karpaty Lviv 2-1 away to continue to maintain their excitement before the away match at Eindhoven.
Expected lineup:
Kovar, Dest, Geertruida, Obispo, Kostic, Sano, Fernandez, Perisic, Til, Van Bommel, Pepi.
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Karavaev, Bondar, Matvienko, Henrique, Ocheretko, Nazaryna, Gomes, Alisson, Elias, Newerton.
The match between PSV and Shakhtar Donetsk takes place at 11:45 PM on September 10th (Vietnam time).
