Preview

October 19, Kharkiv, OSK Metalist, 19:00
Live broadcast on Futbol 1 TV channel

Before the match

The league campaign resumes after an international break. In the past rounds, Paulo Fonseca’s men demolished Karpaty (6-1) and tied with Zorya (1-1). The team worked in Sviatoshyno for 10 days with a reduced squad due to the absence of internationals, however, Dentinho and Alan Patrick have already returned to the general group.
 
On October 11, Shakhtar played a test match vs Arsenal-Kyiv. The reserve team players Kyrylo Melichenko, Yevhen Chahovets and Maksym Chekh took part in the meeting, with Ismaily acting as the captain. The Orange-and-Blacks attacked most of the time and claimed a 3-0 win (Fernando, Moraes and Maycon scored goals).
 
We want to add that Taison and Ivan Ordets will not take part in the upcoming match - they are recovering from injuries.
 
Opponents
 
Desna are the 2018/19 top-flight debutants. We want to remind you that the First League third-place team have been promoted to the top flight through the head-to-head games vs Zirka. According to the head coach Oleksandr Ryabokon, the team are faced with the task of making it to the European club cup competitions. According to the first round results, Chernihiv settled in the seventh position of the tournament table: 4 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses and 13 points. They are just 1 point adrift of Mariupol and Zorya, with whom they are to compete for the top 6 spots.
 
Before the break, Desna alternated victories with defeats. Having beaten Arsenal-Kyiv at home (1-0), the newcomers lost to Dynamo (0-4) and Vorskla (0-2). On October 7 in Lviv, they dealt with the club of the same name (a brace by Artem Favorov and a goal by Oleksandr Filippov secured the score of 3-1). In the recent match, Vitalii Yermakov was sent off, he only twice appeared in the starting line-up in the current UPL season.
 
Head-to-head record
 
The only league meeting between the opponents ended in Shakhtar’s 2-0 win. The clubs also met twice in the Ukrainian Cup (Shakhtar won 5-2 and 2-0).
 
Previous league meeting
 
The first leg in Chernihiv on July 25 was not easy for the champions. In any case, the hosts did not fully drop deep defensively, meeting Shakhtar fairly high upfield and carrying out counterattacks. However, Shakhtar proved stronger. In the 31st minute, Junior Moraes sent a Danchenko assist home to net his debut goal for the club. In the 55th minute, Marlos burst into the penalty area with the participation of Kovalenko, beat Mostovyi and Litovka to roll the ball into the back of the unguarded net and seal the 2-0 win.