Preview

The game kicks off at 12:00 Kyiv time (EET). The live broadcast is available to all authorized users of shakhtar.com. 
 
Before the match
 
In Grassau, Shakhtar have been preparing for the season for six days now. The first training camp with the coaching staff of Luis Castro is passing without running exercises and fitness training - the players have two ball trainings daily.
 
The Miners held their first summer friendly in Kufstein vs Ludogorets, Bulgaria’s leading team, using a modified formation and winning 3-0 (goals by Tete, Alan Patrick, and Danylo Sikan). The whole next day was dedicated to recovery and theory, after which the Miners returned to the usual pace of intensive training sessions.
 
Opponents
 
CSKA is the most decorated club in Bulgaria (31 league titles, Levski Sofia have 26 titles). For eleven years now, the Sofia outfit have to be content with any spot but the top one, since Ludogorets have been the top side since 2012.
 
In May, the Army men changed the manager - the resigned Luboslav Penev was replaced by his assistant Dobromir Mitov. Under the leadership of the 47-year-old Bulgarian, they played four closing league games (a home draw vs Ludogorets, along with victories over Beroe, Levski, and Plovdiv-based Botev). As a result, the Reds secured the second spot - in July, they will play in the first round of the Europa League qualifying stage vs Titograd Montenegro.
 
In their squad, we can highlight the successful striker Ali Sowe (Gambia), the team’s best assist provider Tiago Rodrigues, another Portuguese - the central midfielder Ruben Pinto, as well as the experienced goalkeeper Vytautas Cerniauskas.
 
Previous meeting
 
The opponents met exactly a year ago, on June 30, 2018, ending the encounter in a goalless draw. In the first half, there were next to zero dangerous chances, except for Fernando’s attempt over the crossbar, with Kovalenko, Moraes and Bolbat missing the target after the break.