Preview

September 18, Kovalivka, Kolos stadium, 17:00

Match build-up

After starting the UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in Tiraspol, Shakhtar returned to Ukraine and began preparing for the scheduled league game. The next opponents are Mariupol. Roberto De Zerbi's men are approaching this matchday in the second spot, three points adrift of Dynamo (due to losing points vs Oleksandriia and Minaj).

Last Saturday, the Orange-and-Blacks defeated Dnipro-1 in Kyiv. In the 15th minute, Fernando netted his first goal as a starting XI player, with Lassina Traore sealing the win by making it 2-0. Marlon and Dodo missed this game because of the red cards earned previously. The former has already served his suspension, with the latter being suspended for two matches.

Besides Dodo, Trubin, Kryvtsov, Ismaily, Pedrinho, Konoplyanka, Dentinho and Fernando will not play against Mariupol. There are 21 footballers on the preliminary list:

goalkeepers: Pyatov, Shevchenko, Puzankov;
defenders: Konoplia, Bondar, Vitao, Marlon, Matviienko, Korniienko;
midfielders: Stepanenko, Maycon, Marcos Antonio, Marlos, Tete, Bondarenko, Solomon, Mudryk, Alan Patrick, Sudakov;
forwards: Traore, Sikan.

Opponents

Mariupol got off to a poor start this season as the team are just the second from bottom. After being tied 1-1 by Lviv at the start, the Azov outfit suffered five defeats at the hands of Desna (1-2), Dnipro-1 (1-2), Chornomorets (2-3), Zorya (3-4) and Inhulets (0-3). Only in the previous round did Ostap Markevych's men interrupted this streak with an away victory over Kolos. The match was successful for them: by the 26th minute, the Mariupol-based side were leading 2-0 (with the goals netted by Topalov and Kulakov). In the second half, Lysenko pulled one back, but in the injury time Topalov scored a double, making it 3-1. It so happens that the Azov team will play in Kovalevka for the second round in a row.

Head-to-head record

Shakhtar have met with the Mariupol side on 46 occasions in the Ukrainian league, having 42 wins, 4 draws and a total goal difference of 122-28.

Previous league meeting 

On April 10, the match was hosted by the NSC Olimpiyskiy. By the break, Shakhtar were 2-0 in front (Moraes and Solomon scored in the 35th and 37th minutes), scoring the third goal in the second half (Dodo earned a spot-kick that was converted by Moraes).