Preview

August 27, Kovalivka, Kolos, 15:00
Live broadcast will be available on MEGOGO, Kyivstar TV, Vodafone TV, Setanta Sports, Volia TV, Sweet.tv, OmegaTV

Match build-up

At the start of the season, Shakhtar gained 8 points after they defeated Metalist 1925 (2-1) and Oleksandriia (2-1) and tied with Veres (1-1) and Kryvbas (3-3). The Orange-and-Blacks show a good goal return, scoring an average of 2 goals per match (goal difference: 8–6), and in general, the scoring streak of Shakhtar in the UPL already includes 33 games in a row.

Before the match in Kovalivka, head coach of the Miners Patrick van Leeuwen will not be able to count on suspended Dmytro Chyhrynskyi and Artem Bondarenko. In addition, forward Lassina Traore was badly injured and he is out for the autumn part of the season. Meanwhile, a newcomer – Georgian defender Irakli Azarov – joined the team.

Opponents

Kolos also did not lose at the start of the new championship, having the results identical to the results of the Miners – 2 wins and 2 draws (8 points, goal difference: 5–1). Having started the season with a draw with UPL newcomers Obolon (0-0), Yaroslav Vyshniak’s team then defeated Chornomorets (2-0) and Veres (2-0) on their field, and they conceded for the first time only in the previous round, sharing the points with Rukh (1-1).
The most prolific player of Kovalivka team is defender Andrii Tsurikov (2 goals), who scored in Lviv as well. And another defender, Nikolai Zolotov, was included in the protocol for a negative reason – he received a red card and will skip the match against Shakhtar.

Match background

Shakhtar and Kolos held 9 face-to-face meetings in the UPL: 8 victories of the Miners, 1 match ended in a draw. Total goal difference: 25–6 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks.

Previous match

On April 28, 2023, Shakhtar and Kolos played in Kovalivka. The host team quickly opened the scoring (Pavlo Orikhovskyi scored in the 14th minute) and kept a minimal lead until the break. But at the beginning of the second half, Artem Bondarenko (48′) and Lassina Traore (52′) scored goals and completely changed the situation. Bondarenko himself capped the scoring in the 80th minute. 3-1 – a victory of the Miners.

Kolos vs Shakhtar match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Vitalii Romanov. Assistants: Oleksandr Zhukov and Oleksandr Korniiko. VAR system will be used during the game (Dmytro Bondarenko will be the referee).