Shakhtar Donetsk vs Werder Bremen Live.

Both team defeated teams from their own country in the semi-finals – Shakhtar eliminating Dynamo Kiev and Werder disposing of Hamburg. With an overall capacity of 53,586, the venue in Istanbul, the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium, will that evening become the very first Turkish stadium to play host to a UEFA Cup final. It has of course, famously played host to probably the most exciting Champions League Cup finals in history back in 2005 when Liverpool defeated AC Milan on penalties, have been losing the game 3-0 at half time.

Shakhtar have had a good run to the final, and apart from knocking out Dynamo Kiev in the semis, the also defeated Marseille in the quarter finals, CSKA Moscow in the last sixteen round and Tottenham Hotspurs in the last 32 round. For their part, Werder disposed of Udinese in the quarter finals, St. Etienne in the round of sixteen and AC Milan in the round of 32.

In their respective league campaigns, Shakhtar enjoyed a good 3-0 away win at Zorya and remain in second place, twelve points behind leaders Dynamo Kiev, who look odds-on to win the league title. For their part, Werder suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Karlsruhe and find themselves sitting in a lowly, for them, tenth position in the Bundesliga with 45 points. Winning the UEFA Cup is their only chance of qualifying for European football next season.