Preview

April 28, Kovalivka, Kolos, 15:00
Live stream – Setanta Sports OTT platform

Match build-up

Shakhtar continue their winning spring streak: after the resumption of the championship, Shakhtar won 7 victories with 2 draws. Such results allow Igor Jovicevic’s team to keep the first spot in the Premier League table: currently, the Miners have 53 points (goal difference: 53–16), they are 5 points ahead of Dnipro-1, which have a match in hand. Also, the scoring streak of the Orange-and-Blacks in the UPL, which already includes 21 matches, continues. It is interesting that the historical record by this indicator also belongs to Shakhtar: during the period between August 2015 and July 2017 they scored in 53 games in a row.

The Miners spent this week in Kyiv, training at the base of the Sviatoshyn training complex. All players are preparing for the match against Kolos, except for Dmytro Kryskiv, Ivan Petriak and Dmytro Riznyk, who are recovering after injuries.

Opponents

Kolos are having another good season in the elite division and are currently in 6th spot in the UPL table. In 22 matches, Kovalivka team scored 30 points (8 wins, 6 draws, 8 losses) and continue to fight for a place in the European competitions. The trademark style of Yaroslav Vyshniak’s team is preserved, with a focus on defence: Kovalivka side do not score so much themselves (only 19 goals), but have the fourth most reliable defence in the league (21 conceded goals).

In the spring part of the season, Kolos played 7 matches: they lost to Kryvbas, Minaj and to Zorya in the last round with the minimum score, played a goalless draw with Metalist, and also defeated Rukh (1-0), Metalist 1925 (3-0) and Minaj (1-0). Midfielder Pavlo Orikhovskyi, who is the top goalscorer of Kovalivka team in this season (7 goals), scored 3 of these 5 goals for the team.

Match background

Shakhtar and Kolos played 8 times within the Ukrainian League: in 7 matches the Miners were stronger, 1 meeting ended in a draw. Total goal difference: 22–5 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks.

Previous match

On October 19, 2022, Shakhtar and Kolos played at Arena Lviv in the first round. In the 8th minute, the Orange-and-Blacks opened the scoring thanks to a well-placed kick by Mykhailo Mudryk. Continuing to fully control the course of events on the field, Igor Jovicevic’s lads exploited a success after the break: in the 47th minute, Luсas Taylor scored the debut goal for Shakhtar, and 10 minutes later, Mudryk netted a brace after Sudakov’s pass. 3-0 – a confident victory of the Miners.

Kolos vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Oleksii Derevinskyi. Assistants – Volodymyr Zharyi and Yaroslav Trekhlib.