Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Manchester United: Where the Game Will Be Won and Lost

Manchester United head to Ukraine on Wednesday evening knowing they face a tough test at the Donbass Arena against a Shakhtar Donetsk side who reached last season's UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

While Shakhtar, who lost Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Fernandinho in the first half of 2013, are not the same side that looked so impressive in the group stage last year, they have recruited well over the summer and will be a stern test for David Moyes' side.

Domestically, Shakhtar have not been as dominant as in recent seasons—finding themselves third at this early stage of the campaign. However, there have been signs in recent weeks that they are beginning to settle upon a preferred first XI, and they were impressive in securing a 2-0 away win at Real Sociedad.

Shakhtar have always looked to retain possession in the past, playing with advanced, wide attacking midfielders in the form of Willian and Alex Teixeira, while Mkhitaryan and Jadson before him controlled the attacking unit.

The team that played at Sociedad, perhaps aware of their own deficiencies, sat deeper and looked to play more on the counterattack than in previous years. As ever, though, it was a very fluid, modern style of attacking play.

The game in Donetsk will be won or lost in midfield, where United may well choose to play three central midfielders to combat the Ukrainian side's strength.

Shuttling midfielder Fernando will be the player whom Moyes and his side will be most keen to limit, with his energy key to Shakhtar's hopes. Midfield anchor Tomas Hubschman will not hurt United, while the attacking midfield trio relies on the dynamism of Fernando for support from deep.

It would be no surprise to see Moyes use Tom Cleverley to attempt to limit the Brazilian's influence, while Danny Welbeck could be asked to play a defensive role up against forward-thinking full-back Darijo Srna. If United can stifle those two supply routes, they can then seek to assert their own influence on the game in attacking areas.

Another key area will be set pieces, with Srna's delivery and the aerial threat of defenders Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Oleg Kucher a major weapon for Shakhtar. The likes of Marouane Fellaini and Nemanja Vidic need to ensure that their concentration levels do not drop at any point in the game.

United, then, will hope that by limiting Shakhtar's main outlets they can assert some sort of control on the game, even if they are likely to look to individual talents on the counterattack as their main threat.

As usual, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Nani will be looked to as players who can influence such tight away legs. With a cautious policy likely to be adopted, it will be the quality of individual players that will be key to any United success.

It is likely to be a cagey affair, with neither side too sure of what to expect from the other team. In truth, after positive starts, both would likely be content with a point. Maximising set pieces, though, may hold the key to a victory for either side.