Now in their second season in UEFA's top club competition, Bologna's last appearance at this level came during their mid-60s heyday, when they lost to Anderlecht on a coin toss in the 1964 preliminary round.

Much has changed since then, and this week the Emiliani will become one of five clubs to make their Champions League debut in the competition's new expanded format in 2024-25.

Bologna will be the 11th Italian team to appear in the tournament proper after the seven-time Scudetto winners set a club record of 68 points last season, their highest league finish since 1967.

After leading an unheralded side to fifth place in the final standings, Thiago Motta accepted an offer from Juventus, prompting the appointment of former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano, who was beaten in each of the last two UEFA Champions League finals.

However, Italiano is still waiting for his first competitive win, having overseen disappointing home draws, including a 3-0 defeat to Napoli, and last weekend Bologna had to come from two goals down to snatch a point against newly promoted Como.

A Bologna side without key players Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori, both of whom left for England in the summer, needed goals from substitutes Santiago Castro and Samuel Iling-Junior to salvage a point that leaves them 17th in the Serie A table.

The Rossoblu will be taking their first step into European competition since losing to Fulham in the Intertoto Cup in 2002 and will be defending a proud record at the Stadio Dall'Ara, where they have never lost in Europe, winning 15 of 23 matches.

While Bologna are newcomers to the Champions League, Shakhtar Donetsk reached the quarter-finals in 2011 and have been in the competition for all but one of the last 15 years.

Shakhtar only missed out on the knockout rounds last season thanks to a crucial defeat at Porto on the final matchday, but they have now been eliminated at the group stage for six seasons in a row.

After being relegated to the Europa League, the Miners were beaten by Marseille in the knockout rounds, but that did not spoil an otherwise excellent 2023-24 campaign.

Under Croatian head coach Marino Pusic, Shakhtar claimed a 15th Ukrainian Premier League title by finishing two points clear of old foes Dynamo Kyiv, before going on to lift the cup and complete their ninth domestic double.

They have lost twice this term, however, having suffered just three defeats in all of last season. A hat-trick from Artem Bondarenko helped them to a 5-2 home win over Karpaty Lviv at the weekend, but they remain sixth after five games.

Already estranged from their home city by the war, Shakhtar must now try to pick up points on the road: they have won just twice in their last 11 Champions League away matches before heading to Italy, where they have lost 10 of 15 previous meetings with Serie A sides.

Prediction:Bologna 2-2 Shakhtar Donetsk

Bologna VS Shakhtar Donetsk stream and TV listing

International：Holasports