Preview

Shakhtar are to face Ipswich (England) in the test match. The game will take place in Villach, Austria, at the Sportzentrum Landskron and will kick off at 15:00 Kyiv time.

All friendlies of the Orange-and-Blacks will be streamed live on Shakhtar’s YouTube channel and the FC Shakhtar mobile application (App Store and Google Play) in the Live section.

Opponents

Ipswich Town FC has a long history: the club was founded in 1878 and turned professional in 1936, won its first and so far only league title in the 1961/62 season, and became the winner of the FA Cup in 1978. Another bright chapter was at the beginning of the 1980s, when the Tractor Boys won the silver awards of the English League twice (1981, 1982) and became the winners of the UEFA Cup (1981). From 2004 to 2019, the team played in the Championship (the second-highest English division), and then spent 4 seasons in League One (Third Division). Having returned to the Championship, Ipswich had an incredible season and qualified for the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, ranking second in the final table.

38-year-old head coach Kieran McKenna is considered to be the main creator of this success. He has been in charge of Ipswich since 2021 and has progressed from the Third Division to the Premier League together with the team. Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton were all interested in the young head coach this summer, but he signed a new four-year contract with Ipswich. The leaders of the Blues in the previous season were left-back Leif Davis (21 assists in 44 games), centre-back Luke Woolfenden, central midfielder and team captain Sam Morsy, and the attacking trio of Omari Hutchinson, Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin, who scored 37 goals in all competitions. In the summer, the club is actively looking for reinforcements on the English transfer market: the club has signed goalkeeper Arijanet Muric from Burnley, centre-back Jacob Greaves from Hull City, 21-year-old forward Liam Delap from Manchester City.

The friendly game against Shakhtar will be the first match of the pre-season for Ipswich, who are preparing to start their Premier League campaign on August 17.