Preview: BATE Borisov vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

BATE Borisov go into their Champions League fixture with Shakhtar Donetsk in confident mood having defeated Athletic Bilbao on matchday two.

The Belarusian league leaders were considered the underdogs in a group also containing Porto, but despite being thrashed by the Portuguese giants in September, they are in contention for qualification from Group H.

BATE go into Tuesday's contest on the back of four successive wins, while they haven't suffered defeat at the Borisov Arena during the current campaign.

Shakhtar have endured a mixed few weeks on both the domestic and European front, but Mircea Lucescu would have been pleased to see his team hit six past Volyn last week.

That win came after Shakhtar had conceded two late goals to draw 2-2 with Porto before losing 1-0 away at rivals Dynamo Kiev.

Douglas Costa and Alex Teixeira could return to Lucescu's starting lineup after both made an impact from the substitutes' bench on Friday.

Recent form

BATE Borisov: DWWWW

Shakhtar Donetsk: LWDLW

Possible starting lineups

BATE Borisov: Chernik, Tubic, Khagush, Polyakov, Likhtarovich, Baga, Gordeychuk, Karnitskiy, Volodko, Yablonski, Signevich

Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov, Srna, Chygrynskiy, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Ilsinho , Dentinho, Douglas Costa, Fernando, Luiz Adriano, Alex Teixeira

Sports Mole says: 1-1