Preview

The league season in Ukraine is resuming with the game involving the current champions. Shakhtar are 3 points ahead of Dynamo 3 rounds away from the end of the first stage. This winter, the Miners held training camps in Turkey and the UAE, and started training in Kyiv on February 8.
 
The Orange-and-Blacks’ coach Paulo Fonseca stressed that the Premier League is a priority for the team. The players are well motivated for the first official meeting in 2018, especially as it will be held in Kharkiv, where they will be locking horns with Roma in the Champions League a few days later.
 
We want to remind you that Facundo Ferreyra (13 goals) confidently tops the league scorers race. His closest pursuers are Marlos and Dieumerci Mbokani (8 goals each).
 
Due to suspension, Yaroslav Rakits’kyy, Fred, Ivan Petriak and Ruslan Fomin will not feature vs Chornomorets.
 
Opponents
 
Chornomorets spent the winter in the 10th spot. The Odesa team claimed 3 wins and 8 draws, being the ninth performance wise (15 goals), also conceding the most goals alongside Karpaty and Stal (29 goals).
 
In December, the former U21 coach Kostiantyn Frolov became the head coach of the Sailors. Under his leadership, Chornomorets played 12 friendlies at the training camp in Turkey (3 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses).
 
They substantially refreshed the squad: the best scorer Oleksii Khoblenko moved to Lech (POL), Serhii Politylo went to Turkey, with Denys Vasin, Oleksandr Gutor and Alassane N’diaye also leaving the club. Their places were taken up by goalkeeper Andrii Novak, defender Mykola Ischenko, midfielders Guti, Ivan Bobko, Artem Chorniy and Yurii Romaniuk, as well as striker Silvio.
 
We want to note that Fusseny Bamba and Kyrylo Kovalets have been suspended for the upcoming round.
 
Head-to-head record
 
The opponents met in the Ukrainian League 47 times. 33 wins for Shakhtar, 7 for Chornomorets, 7 draws; goal difference is 92-28.
 
The Miners claimed 19 home wins, also having 1 draw and 3 defeats; goal difference is 52-8.
 
Previous league meeting
 
In the season’s first part, Chornomorets heroically withstood Shakhtar in Odesa, with the latter defeating Napoli in the Champions League four days earlier. The 0-0 score was secured by the Sailors’ selfless defensive performance and the goalkeeper Oleksandr Gutor’s brilliant reflexes.