Preview

February 24, Lviv, Arena Lviv, 18:00
Live stream will be available on UPL.TV

Match build-up

Shakhtar approach the second part of the UPL season with the intention of continuing the fight for the title: the Miners are currently in the top three with 33 points, having 10 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in 16 matches. At the same time, Marino Pusic’s team are the highest-scoring in the championship, with 41 goals scored and 15 goals conceded. The top goalscorers of the Orange-and-Blacks in the Ukrainian League are midfielders Heorhii Sudakov and Artem Bondarenko (each scored 8 goals).

Shakhtar spent the winter pre-season in Turkey, where the team prepared for official matches for 50 days. In January, the Pitmen held 2 matches of the Champions League, and played 6 friendly games at the training camp, where they won 5 times and ended 1 meeting in a draw. The Miners were also active in the transfer market: Taras Stepanenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Danylo Sikan and Kevin Kelsy left the club during this window, instead, the club signed young performers – Bolivian central defender Diego Arroyo and Brazilian forward Kaua Elias, who have already managed to prove themselves in test games. The Pitmen returned to Ukraine from the training camp the day before, and they even managed to conduct the training session on the field of the Arena Lviv today.

Opponents

Livyi Bereh, who are spending their debut season in the UPL, had 4 wins, 4 draws and 9 losses after 17 rounds and reached the second part of the championship in the 13th spot of the tournament table with 16 points (goal difference: 9–20). The most prolific player of the team in the current campaign is 26-year-old midfielder Ruslan Dedukh (3 goals). Vitalii Pervak’s team also spent the training camp in the south of Turkey, where they played 7 test matches: 4 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses. The newcomer of the Storks, Brazilian Diego Henrique, who scored 3 goals, performed well in the friendly matches. Goalkeeper Illia Karavashchenko, forwards Andrii Riznyk and Dmytro Shastal also joined the club from Kyiv region in the winter.

Match background and previous meeting

Shakhtar and Livyi Bereh played their first ever and currently the only official match in the 3rd round of the Ukrainian League in Kyiv on August 18, 2024. The game ended with the victory of the Miners: Danylo Sikan scored the deciding goal in the 63rd minute after Pedrinho’s pass – 1-0.

The Shakhtar vs Livyi Bereh match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Oleksandr Afanasiev. Assistants: Oleksandr Pavlinov and Vitalii Sukhin. Roman Blavatskyi will be the VAR referee.