Preview

April 2, Odesa, Chornomorets, 15:00
Live stream – Setanta Sports

Match build-up

Shakhtar successfully started the second part of the UPL season, having won 4 consecutive victories: Igor Jovicevic’s lads defeated Minaj (4-1), Metalist 1925 (7-0) and Kryvbas (3-0), and in the last round they beat Rukh (2-0). This run allowed the Miners to take first spot in the Premier League table: currently, Shakhtar have 42 points, and they are 3 points ahead of the closest opponents. Also, the Orange-and-Blacks remain the best in the league in terms of goals, having the most goals scored (45) and the least goals conceded (12).

During the international break, 10 Miners defended the colours of their national teams: Anatolii Trubin, Mykola Matviienko, Taras Stepanenko, Heorhii Sudakov and Artem Bondarenko started in the Euro 2024 qualification as members of Ukraine national team, Dmytro Kryskiv, Oleh Ocheretko and Danylo Sikan played for the youth team of the Blue-and-Yellows, and Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Khusrav Toirov made their debuts for the main teams of their countries – Georgia and Tajikistan, respectively. The rest of Shakhtar players were preparing for the league match in Lviv.

Opponents

Chornomorets also improved their tournament standing in the spring, winning away victories over Veres (3-1) and Inhulets (2-1) in 3 matches played, with a home draw with Metalist 1925 (1-1). Due to such results, Odesa team formally left the relegation zone and are 11th in the UPL with 18 points (goal difference: 16–23). However, the density in this part of the table remains very high, so the entire struggle for Roman Hryhorchuk’s team is still ahead.

During the pre-season, the Sailors were extremely active in the transfer market: they released 10 players as free agents or on loan and signed 7 performers on the same basis. Among them, Zorya loanee, 22-year-old forward Danyil Alefirenko stands out. He scored goals in each of 3 matches played and is currently the team’s top goalscorer in the Premier League.

Match background

Shakhtar and Chornomorets played 52 matches in the Ukrainian League: 38 victories for the Miners, 7 draws, Odesa team were stronger 7 times. Total goal difference: 106–29 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks.

Previous match

On September 10, 2022, Shakhtar and Chornomorets met at Arena Lviv. Already in the 10th minute of the game, Odesa side opened the scoring thanks to a well-placed kick by Braharu, and after that they focused on defending their own goal. The visiting team managed to hold out for an hour, but in the 74th minute, Marian Shved headed the ball home from Mykhailichenko’s pass, and in the 90th + 6th minute, Ocheretko decided to perform a long-range shot, and the ball went into the net from Traore’s foot. 2:1 – a comeback victory of the Miners.

Chornomorets vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Andrii Kovalenk. Assistants: Volodymyr Volodin and Oleksandr Korniyko. VAR system will be used during the game (Denys Shurman will be the referee).