Preview

September 23, Lviv, Arena Lviv, 19:00
Live broadcast will be available on Sport 1, Suspilne. Sport

Match build-up

Shakhtar continue to be the only leaders of the UPL with 17 points and the best goal difference in the league (15–7). The victory over Obolon (1-0) in the previous round, achieved thanks to Yehor Nazaryna's goal, helped Shakhtar to secure their position at the top of the table. Oleksii Kashchuk and Mykola Matviienko (both scored 3 goals) remain the top goalscorers of the team, as well as Dmytro Kryskiv, who scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists.

This week, Patrick van Leeuwen’s team played the opening match of the Champions League group stage, losing to Porto in Hamburg (1-3). After that, the team returned to Ukraine and had 2 days to prepare for the game against Rukh. It should be noted that the Miners have no suspended players.

Opponents

Rukh started the championship with 3 consecutive victories and even topped the standings for a while. Then there were draws with Kolos (1-1) and Metalist 1925 (1-1) and the first loss of the season to LNZ (1-2) in the previous round. The Yellow-and-Blacks are currently in 5th spot in the UPL with 11 points (goal difference: 10–6), having 1 game in hand. Also, the Galicians have already started playing in the Ukrainian Cup, where they beat Skala (2-0) in Round of 32.

The most prolific players of Rukh at the start of the season are 20-year-old Illia Kvasnytsia (4 goals) and more experienced Yurii Klymchuk (3). One of the leaders of the team Marko Sapuha will not help Rukh in the match against the Miners due to excess of cards.

Match background

Shakhtar and Rukh played 5 matches in the Ukrainian League: the Miners won 4 games, 1 match ended in a draw. Total goal difference: 8–1 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks.

Previous match

On March 19, 2023, Shakhtar and Rukh met on the field of Arena Lviv. The Miners confidently carried the play, and they actually determined the fate of the match in the middle of the first half. In the 27th minute, Mykola Matviienko joined the attack and opened the scoring with a shot into the far corner, and 5 minutes after, Dmytro Kryskiv put the ball under the crossbar from the centre of the penalty area and doubled the advantage. In the second half, the Orange-and-Blacks calmly brought the game to the result they needed. 2-0 – the victory of Shakhtar.

Rukh vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Vitalii Romanov. Assistants – Maksym Chertolias and Oleksandr Zhukov. VAR system will be used during the game (Denys Marchenko will be the referee).