Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu is convinced they can more than match Champions League opponents AS Roma.
The Ukrainians come to the Stadio Olimpico for the Champions League Round of 16 on tonight.
"As Arsene Wenger said, we are a young side with excellent potential and a great future. We're hard to beat," said former Brescia manager Lucescu.
"It will be difficult for us, as tomorrow will be our first official match of 2011. Such a long break does have an effect on fitness levels, but I'd say we are in good shape and can really challenge Roma.
"It's -20 degrees C in Donetsk at the moment, so we went to Dubai and Spain to prepare for the match and straight to Italy after the internationals last week."
