Preview

December 1, Mariupol, Volodymyr Boyko stadium, 14:00
Live broadcast on Futbol 1 channel
  
Before the match
 
The Miners are preparing for the league match in a great mood after the inspiring meeting with Manchester City. In England, Luis Castro’s men managed to display some top-quality performance and clinched a draw. Now, all their thoughts are about the next two UPL matchdays vs Mariupol and Olimpik, in which the champions need to achieve maximum results to make their leading position even more secure before the winter break.
 
Shakhtar arrived in Mariupol on Saturday evening. The following players are not on the match list: Marlos and Dentinho, Serhii Kryvtsov and Viktor Kovalenko, as well as suspended Alan Patrick and Junior Moraes. Instead, the preliminary player list features the team captain Taison and the U21 midfielders Mykhailo Mudryk and Artem Bondarenko. Luis Castro will also have to decide between Andriy Boryachuk and Danylo Sikan to field one as an attacking spearhead (it is noteworthy that both guys played on loan for Mariupol).
  
Opponents
 
In 15 rounds, Mariupol scored 17 points, currently sitting in the middle of the league table. The team of Oleksandr Babich have 4 wins, 5 draws, and 6 defeats and the negative difference between the goals scored and goals conceded. In November, the Azov team have not claimed any wins yet: they tied with Karpaty (2-2), they lost to Oleksandriia (1-3) and to Dynamo (0-3).
 
The Mariupol defender Oleksii Bykov has been serving a three-match suspension after being sent off in the 13th round.
 
Head-to-head record
 
In 43 games, Shakhtar claimed 40 wins, with a draw being registered on three occasions. The goal difference is 114–26. The Orange-and-Blacks’ current winning streak vs Mariupol involves 13 games.
 
Previous league meeting
 
In the first stage, the Miners defeated the opponents 5-1 in Kharkiv. They secured the win in the opening 12 minutes after Tete grabbed a double, with Moraes finishing off a difficult move involving Marlos, Tete, and Taison. Shakhtar continued creating chances both before and after the break, with Taison netting the fourth goal from the spot in the 62nd minute. Vakula reduced the deficit just before Marcos Antonio sealed the win.