Shakhtar
Bernard (18)
Ukrainian Premier League
1 - 2
Friday, November 17, 2017 7:00 PM
OSK Metalist
Oleksandriia
Artem Poliarus (15) Artem Poliarus (27)
Preview
Before the match
The Orange-and-Blacks are going 7 points clear atop the Premier League table. At the open training session held on the eve of the game, Paulo Fonseca focused on motivation: all players should be concentrated on the clash against Oleksandriia, in which the Donetsk side need a victory. Gearing up for a hard encounter, Shakhtar head coach ruled out the possibility of rotation and is going to field the strongest squad. There are no disqualified players at Shakhtar.
Opponents
Oleksandriia is one of two most compromise teams of the Premier League (9 draws in 15 rounds). After Volodymyr Sharan's men claimed the only victory over Stal back in September, they shared points with Mariupol and Zirka, lost to Olimpik and played out a draw with Veres, Zorya and Chornomorets.
Shakhtar’s rivals are ranking 10, being in close proximity to the relegation zone. It should be noted that Oleksandriia along with Zirka conceded fewer goals (17) than the teams in the lower part of the table.
Due to exceeding the yellow-card limit, the midfielder Yevhen Banada will not be able to help his teammates in Kharkiv.
Head-to-head record
The sides met 13 times in the league: Shakhtar won 12 matches and recorded 1 draw. The goal difference: 28-9.
The Donetsk team ran out victors in all 6 home fixtures with a total goal difference of 14-1.
Previous league meeting
The showdown in Oleksandriia, which Paulo Fonseca recalled the day before, turned out to be hard for the Orange-and-Blacks. The champions were on the front foot, however, the host were first to break the deadlock: Banada’s sent his header home after a corner in the 38th minute. However, Shakhtar were able to pull level quickly, courtesy of Fred’s excellent shot from outside the penalty area, with Ferreyra handing a 2-1 win for the Miners following a pass from Bernard midway through the second half.
Shakhtar Vs. Oleksandriia history
Recent games
Ukrainian Premier League
Fri 17
•Nov 2017
•19:00
OSK Metalist
Referee: Mykola Balakin
P | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | PNT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shakhtar | 32 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 71 | 24 | 75 |
2 | Dynamo | 32 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 64 | 25 | 73 |
3 | Vorskla | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 35 | 49 |
4 | Zorya | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 44 | 44 | 43 |
5 | Mariupol | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 41 | 39 |
6 | Veres | 32 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 28 | 30 | 35 |
7 | Oleksandriia | 32 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 32 | 27 | 45 |
8 | Karpaty | 32 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 28 | 45 | 37 |
9 | Olimpik | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 29 | 38 | 36 |
10 | Zirka Kropyvnytskyi | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 22 | 40 | 31 |
11 | Chornomorets | 32 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 49 | 29 |
12 | Stal | 32 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 44 | 26 |