Preview

May 15, Rivne, Avanhard, 19:00
Live broadcast will be available on ICTV2

Match build-up

Shakhtar will fight for their second trophy of the season, because they are approaching the cup final as the Champions of Ukraine. On Saturday, the Miners won their second consecutive title and the 15th title in the history of the club early with a victory over Dynamo (1-0). Marino Pusic’s team continue their winning streak in Ukrainian tournaments, which started back in December and currently includes 16 victories in the domestic league and Cup. Danylo Sikan (15 goals, 5 assists), Heorhii Sudakov (10 goals, 6 assists) and Oleksandr Zubkov (6 goals, 12 assists) remain the top goalscorers of the season.

Shakhtar, who are 13-time winners of the Ukrainian Cup, started in the tournament last year with the Round of 16, where they confidently defeated Veres (3-0) thanks to the goals by Kashchuk, Bondarenko and Ocheretko. In the quarter-final, Shakhtar beat the representative of the First League Viktoriia Sumy (3-0), and the goals were scored by Nazaryna, Zubkov and Rakitskyi. And in the semi-final, Shakhtar defeated Chornomorets (4-1) with goals scored by Sikan, Bondarenko and two goals by Sudakov.

Opponents

Vorskla won the Ukrainian Cup once – in 2009, and in the 2019/20 season they were the finalists of the tournament. Poltava team also started their cup journey this season in the Round of 16, defeating Metalist 1925 (3-0) after goals by Kane, Stepaniuk and Nesterenko. In the quarter-final, Vorskla beat Obolon with the same score (3-0) – Stepaniuk, Kane and Batsula scored goals. And in the semi-final, Serhii Dolhanskyi’s team defeated Polissia (1-0) thanks to the single goal by Miakushko.

The April victory over Zhytomyr team remains the last for Vorskla so far: after that, Poltava team played a draw and had 5 consecutive losses in UPL matches. On the weekend, they lost to Minaj at home (2-3). The team’s most prolific players are Ruslan Stepaniuk (10 goals, 8 assists), Ibrahim Kane (4 goals, 4 assists) and Oleksandr Skliar (3 goals, 5 assists).

Match background

Shakhtar and Vorskla played 66 matches in all tournaments: 47 victories of the Orange-and-Blacks, 12 draws, Poltava team were stronger in 7 games. Total goal difference: 134–41 in favour of the Miners. The teams met 9 times in the Ukrainian Cup, Shakhtar have 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.

Previous match

On April 14, Vorskla hosted Shakhtar in Poltava in the Premier League round 24 match. The Miners were active in the first half, and Sikan opened the scoring in the 21st minute. At the beginning of the second half, Shakhtar remained in the minority after Zubkov was sent off, but they kept the advantage over the opponent. 1-0 – the victory of Marino Pusic’s team.

Vorskla vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Vitalii Romanov. Assistants – Semen Shlonchak and Volodymyr Vysotskyi. VAR system will be used during the game (Oleksandr Derevinskyi will be the referee).