Preview

September 22, Chernihiv, Yuri Gagarin stadium, 14:00
Live broadcast on 2+2 TV channel
 
Before the match
 
Unequivocally major game of the round will take place in Chernihiv – the top two sides in the league table will lock horns there. Shakhtar have claimed all wins (7 victories in 7 games), scoring an average of more than 3 goals in each league game. Last Saturday, the Orange-and-Blacks got 3 points in a difficult match vs Zorya in Kharkiv, first eliminating the backlog of 2 goals, later snatching the win in the dying stages (4-3).
 
It is likely that Luis Castro will make some changes in the lineup, because in the tense games vs Zorya and Manchester City, only Tete and Solomon were replaced. We want to add that Yevhen Konoplyanka came on as a sub in both games, with another newcomer Vitao playing for Shakhtar U21 a week ago and scoring a goal.
 
Forward Junior Moraes tops the list of scorers with 7 goals: in the last 3 matches, he has notched up 5 goals. Marlos is the second best after netting 5 goals in 6 previous rounds.
 
Opponents
 
Desna began the season with a home defeat at the hands of Lviv, performing in the next segment better than the rest and steadily gaining points in 6 rounds in a row. The team of Oleksandr Ryabokon have conceded the least goals in the Championship (3), claiming clean-sheet wins over Vorskla, Dnipro-1, and Oleksandriia, tying with Kolos (0-0) and Karpaty (0-0) at home, defeating Dynamo 2-1 in the last round in Kyiv (goal + assist by Vladyslav Kalitvintsev).
 
No other outfit in Ukraine have made more attempts at goal than Shakhtar (112). Desna are the ninth league side for the number of shots (74), at the same time being the leaders for the number of hits into the posts and the crossbar (4). It is also significant that the Chernihiv team most often use long balls (385).
 
The team's top scorer is Oleksandr Filippov after netting 4 goals in his last 6 appearances, including his backheeler vs Dynamo.
 
Head-to-head record
 
The opponents met twice last season: the Miners won 2-0 and 1-0. On October 19, 2018, in Kharkiv, the scoreboard displayed 0-0 until the 88th minute, when Maycon brought 3 points to his team through a masterful free-kick.