Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul plays host to the 38th – and last in it's present form – Uefa Cup final on Wednesday evening as Shakhtar Donetsk and Werder Bremen go head to head.
You can see the game live on Setanta Ireland from 7pm. Click here for details on how to sign up to Setanta Sports on Satellite, Freeview or Setanta-i.
The competition enters its final year in its current format, with the commencement of the new Europa League next season, which will be shown live on Setanta Sports.
Returning the focus to the imminent final, all signs point to an entertaining denouement in Turkey with two attacking sides facing off.
Both clubs came through semi finals against teams from their own domestic leagues, with Shakhtar seeing off Ukrainian rivals Dynamo Kiev. Werder managed to overcome a first-leg deficit to see off Martin Jol’s Hamburg side, whose Bundesliga title hopes have dropped off since their demise at Bremen’s hands.
Indeed, Thomas Schaaf’s team have managed to put aside a hugely disappointing domestic campaign to progress in Europe, seeing off the challenges of Milan, St Etienne, and Udinese on their way to the showpiece. Their poor league form – Werder were beaten 3-1 at home by Bundesliga bottom side Karlsruhe over the weekend – seems to have done little to hinder their path to Istanbul.
Mircea Lucescu’s Shakhtar side come into this game in a totally different vein of form. The Ukrainians may have lost out in their domestic league to the team they overcame in the semi final, but their record of having won 23 of their last 27 games in all competitions – including a run of ten of their last eleven outings – makes for fearsome reading.
Amongst Shakhtar’s victims in the Uefa Cup season have been Tottenham, CSKA Moscow and Marseille.
Lucescu also has nowhere near the same magnitude of suspension or injury worries his counterpart Schaaf does. The Romanian can name an almost full-strength side, including a fit-again Jadson. The creative midfielder makes up a quintet of Brazilian flair exponents in Shakhtar’s side, alongside Ilsinho, Fernandinho, Luiz Adriano and Willian.
Czech Republic international Tomas Hubschman is the only absentee for Lucescu’s outfit, with Mariusz Lewandowski likely to step up from the bench to replace the suspended defender.
Schaaf, on the other hand, has a whole host of selection issues. The most notable problem for the German coach is the absence of playmaker and Werder inspirer Diego, who is suspended for the final. The Brazilian magician’s creative duties will be assumed by the promising Mesut Ozil.
Also banned for the encounter is Portuguese forward Hugo Almeida, although injury concern Claudio Pizarro should be fit to play.
More concerns are prevalent in defence, where Per Mertesacker is out through injury, and with captain Frank Baumann facing a late fitness test Werder’s midfield looks less assured as well.
"We have to be assertive. It will be a hot match but a final is never easy and we're happy to face this challenge," said Schaaf ahead of the encounter, and it is a challenge that may prove one too many for the German outfit against their attack-minded opponents.
Pivotal Player: Jadson. Does for Shakhtar what Diego would have done for Werder. The Brazilian midfielder is a real point of creation for the Ukrainian side, and given a sniff will craft enough chances for his team to make at least one of them count.
Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Werder Bremen.