Preview

July 4, Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, 19:30

Before the match

The match between Shakhtar and Dynamo will undoubtedly be the main event of this weekend in Ukrainian football. The Orange-and-Blacks secured the league title a fortnight ago. After playing Zorya in the previous round, they were already awarded gold medals and the trophy. Nevertheless, the rivalry between the leading clubs was and remains fundamental, and this Saturday's meeting will be no exception.

None of the Shakhtar players went on vacation: the team, as usual, are preparing for another scheduled match in Sviatoshyno. On July 2nd, Luis Castro’s men held a morning training session. In the general group, Viktor Kovalenko, Alan Patrick and David Khocholava are currently absent. Meanwhile, Maycon already looks forward to his chance and, according to the manager, will be given some playing time before the end of the Championship.

We want to remind you that Tete will not appear in the match against Dynamo due to suspension.

Opponents

Before the 29th round, Dynamo have the second position, being 2 points ahead of Zorya and 3 points clear of Desna. After losing 1-3 to Shakhtar on the last day of May, the team of Oleksii Mykhailychenko produced a series of 3 victories over Oleksandriia, Zorya and Kolos. But the Chernihiv team managed to reduce the gap between them and the White-Blues. The vice-champions took an early lead, but Desna managed to turn the game in their favour midway through the first half, with Tsyhankov scoring a double late in the game and with Hytchenko sealing a 3-2 win in injury time.

The match vs Shakhtar will be missed by the central defender Artem Shabanov due to earning four yellow cards. Apparently, he will be replaced by Mykyta Burda who spent many months without football and has fully recovered after the September knee injury. Another suspended player of Dynamo is the midfielder Volodymyr Shepelev.

Head-to-head record

The opponents had 64 meetings in the Ukrainian Championship: Shakhtar won 23 times, Dynamo won on 24 occasions, 17 games ended in a draw. The aggregate goal difference is 76-79.

Previous league meeting

After quarantine, both teams resumed competitive games on May 31st with a meeing at the NSC Olimpiyskiy. Shakhtar won 3-1 then. The Champions immediately responded to Buyalskyi’s goal with a precision shot by Marlos who netted the second one in the second half, with Marcos Antonio completing the counterattack and sealing the win later.