Preview

July 21, Odesa, Chornomorets stadium, 21:00
Live broadcast on Ukraina and Futbol 1 TV channels
 
Before the match
 
The encounter between the country's leading teams will officially open the 2018/19 season. Shakhtar, as the current champions and Ukrainian Cup winners, will meet with the UPL second-spot team. For the fourth year in a row, the Super Cup decider will take place in Odesa.
 
This is the Miners’ 14th Super Cup game, and they are the 8-time cup winners. The Kyiv team boast 6 wins.
 
Opponents
 
In preparation for the new season, Dynamo played friendlies vs Kolos Kovalivka, Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Tianjin Quanjian (China), Luzern (Switzerland), Botosani (Romania), Telfs (Austria) and Viktoria (Czech Republic).
 
In the summer, the White-and-Blues made two acquisitions in the transfer market: the squad was strengthened with the left-back Sidcley and the central halfback Che Che. It’s also worth noting the signing of a full deal with Denys Boyko and the return of Oleksandr Andriievskyi from the loan spell at Zorya.

Paulo Fonseca, Shakhtar's head coach: Today's Dynamo have got stronger. They will make us work even harder though. I want to continue showcasing some quality football, which will make the spectators feel enthusiastic, making the fans proud of us and ending up in our wins.

Super Cup head-to-head record
 
5 out of 10 super cup games between Shakhtar and Dynamo ended in a penalty shootout (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2016), with a 1-1 draw being recorded on four occasions in regular time. In head-to-head meetings, the teams won the trophy 5 times each. Interestingly, in 2014, 2015 and 2017, the Miners won with the same score of 2-0.
 
Previous Super Cup encounter
 
On 15 July 2017, Shakhtar started the season with a triumph. In the 8th minute, Ferreyra got on the end of an Ismaily cross and netted a goal, with a similar move proving successful early in the second half - a brace by Facundo and the 2-0 scoreline.