Preview

August 20, Kryvyi Rih, Hirnyk, 19:00
Live broadcast will be available on MEGOGO, Kyivstar TV, Vodafone TV, Setanta Sports, Volia TV, Sweet.tv, OmegaTV

Match build-up

Shakhtar scored 7 points in the first 3 matches of the season: they started the championship with a victory over Metalist 1925 (2-1), then tied with Veres (1-1) and defeated Oleksandriia in the previous round (2-1). Mykola Matviienko’s goal-scoring feats were replaced with goals by professional forwards in the opening rounds – Danylo Sikan and Lassina Traore scored in the goal of Oleksandriia, and Giorgi Gocholeishvili provided both assists. We should mention Dmytro Chyhrynskyi's return to the UPL. He officially started the third stage of his career at Shakhtar with the previous game.

Over the last week, the personnel situation in the squad of the Orange-and-Blacks has somewhat improved. Ahead of the game, the team have no suspended players, and captain Taras Stepanenko joined the training sessions in the general group. Heorhii Sudakov and Marian Shved are also gradually getting in shape.

Opponents

Kryvbas started the new UPL season with a minimal defeat by Oleksandriia (0-1), but then made amends, confidently defeating Zorya (3-1) and LNZ (2-0). It is interesting that 5 different players scored goals in these matches. From the first matches, head coach of Kryvyi Rih team Yurii Vernydub has been actively including the club’s newcomers in the line-up – Djihad Bizimana, Hrvoje Ilic, Yurii Vakulko and Oleh Kozhushko immediately became the regular players of the Red-and-Whites and already play a significant role in the team’s structure.

Match background

Shakhtar and Kryvbas played 43 matches in the Ukrainian League: 31 victories for the Miners, 7 matches ended in draw, the opponents won 6 times. Total goal difference: 84-22 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks. The winning streak of Shakhtar in the UPL matches against Kryvyi Rih team includes 13 games in a row.

Previous match

On March 12, 2023, Shakhtar and Kryvbas met in Kryvyi Rih. The first half passed without scored goals, and the visiting team managed to open the scoring in the 58th minute after a well-placed shot by Heorhii Sudakov. In the 80th minute, Kevin Kelsy doubled the advantage of Shakhtar after Sudakov’s pass, and Marian Shved capped the scoring in the 83rd minute. 3-0 – a victory of the Miners.

Kryvbas vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Andrii Kovalenko. Assistants – Dmytro Zaporozhenko and Oleksandr Berkut. VAR system will be used during the game (Maksym Kozyriatskyi will be the referee).