Preview

Shakhtar's opponent in the test match will be Moldovan Zimbru Chisinau. The game will kick off at 14:30 Kyiv time.

All friendlies of the Orange-and-Blacks are streamed live on Shakhtar's YouTube channel and the FC Shakhtar mobile application (App Store and Google Play) in the Live section.

Opponent

FC Zimbru was founded in 1947 in the capital of Moldova, Chisinau. During the country's independence, the team won the title 8 times (1992–2000), the Moldovan Cup 6 times and the Super Cup (2014). In the 2023/24 season, the Yellow-Greens finished in 3rd place in the Moldovan Super Liga and won the bronze medals and the right to participate in European Cups. However, the European campaign of Zimbrii was short, as they were eliminated after Ararat-Armenia in the first round of UEFA Conference League qualification (1-3 and 0-3). And in the current Moldovan League, Zimbru are doing well: after 14 rounds, the Chisinau-based team have 25 points (goal difference: 32–16) and are currently in the 2nd spot in the standings.

Since October 2024, the head coach of Zimbru is Turkish specialist Hikmet Karaman. Interestingly, before that, the 64-year-old coach worked exclusively with Turkish clubs throughout his career, the last of which was Adana Demirspor. The team captain and leader of the defence is 33-year-old centre-back Stefan Burghiu. The most prolific players of Zimbru this season are Nigerian forward Justice Ohajunwa (9 goals, 5 assists) and Moldovan midfielder Vlad Raileanu (7 goals, 2 assists).

During the winter pre-season, Zimbru players held 3 friendly matches: they defeated Slovenian Maribor (4-0) and Moldovan Olimp Comrat (4-0), and also tied with Gjilan (Kosovo) (1-1). Before the match against Shakhtar, the Chisinau team are scheduled to play the friendly game against the Moldovan team Spartanii.