Preview

August 3, Kyiv, NSC Olympiyskyi, 19:00 
Live broadcast on the 2+2 TV channel

Before the match

Shakhtar kicked off their league season campaign with two straight wins over the debutants (2-0 away vs Desna and 3-0 in Kharkiv vs Arsenal-Kyiv). Junior Moraes scored two goals in one game, with Marlos, Fernando and Taison netting a goal each.
 
The Miners played the round two game with a different defensive combination: Danchenko - Khocholava - Matviienko - Butko. Before the encounter with Dynamo, the personnel situation is slightly changing. Ismaily is ready to benefit the team after being suspended, Yaroslav Rakits’kyy has returned to the general group, but Kryvtsov, Ordets and Kayode still train individually.
 
Opponents
 
A distinctive feature of Dynamo this season are their narrow wins: Alyaksandr Khatskevich’s men won all of their three games 1-0. Shakhtar, Vorskla and Lviv failed to rip open the Kyiv side’s defence. In the latter case, the draw continued until the second injury-time minute and the goal-scoring attack involving Andriievskyi and Rusin, who came on as substitutes.

Dynamo have two Brazilian newcomers. The central midfielder Tche Tche debuted in the Ukrainian Super Cup tie and appeared in the starting line-up in Lviv, while the left-back Sidcley having played only in the U21 league so far, but he was invariably put on the senior team’s squad list. The White-and-Blues have got no personnel losses in the run-up to the Ukrainian ‘Clasico’, only Shaparenko, who suffered a nasal fracture in the first round, had to play with a protective mask on.
 
We want to add that after the meeting with Shakhtar, the Kyivans are facing an away match in the Champions League third qualifying round vs the Prague-based Slavia.
 
Head-to-head record
 
The opponents had 57 Ukrainian League meetings: 19 wins for Shakhtar, 23 wins for Dynamo, and 15 draws. The goal difference is 67-74.
 
The Miners claimed 7 away wins, with 6 games ending in a draw and 15 defeats, and the aggregate goal difference of 29-44.
 
Previous league meeting 
 
On May 19, the teams played at the Valerii Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium. Shakhtar approached the encounter as the reigning champions with a number of changes in the squad: Dodo, Alan Patrick, Dentinho and Kayode appeared in the starting lineup. In the 16th minute, the hosts scored a goal (Verbic netted Tsyhankov's delivery), but score got even again shortly afterwards: Marlos converted a spot kick awarded for Kadar's fouling on Kayode. A chance in the 56th minute became decisive, when Khocholava netted an own goal following Kedziora’s cross, making it 2-1.