Preview

July 19, Oleksandriia, Nika, 19:30

Before the match

The Miners approach the game with maximum concentration and will to win. Currently, the team are 22 points ahead of Dynamo and may well keep the gap that will be record-breaking in the history of Ukrainian championships anyway.

At the same time, Shakhtar's preparation for the last UPL meeting has a number of unusual details in the staffing context. Andriy Pyatov, Sergii Kryvtsov, Taras Stepanenko, Taison, Dodo and Alan Patrick are on vacation. David Khocholava and Junior Moraes were suspended. Viktor Kovalenko, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Fernando and Ismaily worked individually before the match, with the latter continuing his recovery.

In the previous round, the Orange-and-Blacks played with a new combination of players. In the starting lineup vs Kolos, Vladyslav Vakula made his debut, Danylo Sikan appeared as an attacking spearhead, with Mykhailo Mudryk being fielded on the flank. The captain's armband was entrusted to Anatolii Trubin for the first time ever. The victory began with Cipriano’s opener for Shakhtar, with the late sub Moraes sealing the win.

Opponents

Oleksandriia are finishing in the 5th spot after winning bronze medals last year. This season, the team have been playing in the league not so consistently, finding themselves at a low position due to the high competition (vs Zorya and Desna). Moreover, Volodymyr Sharan's men appeared after quarantine and beat the Luhansk team 1-0 at home, not winning in the following 6 rounds in a row though (4 defeats and 2 draws). And it was only this Thursday that the Oleksandriians interrupted this losing streak - they played away in Chernihiv, conceded the opener, but then netted three goals as a response to Desna.

It is worth reminding you that the season is not ending for Oleksandriia after the encounter with Shakhtar - in 6 days they will have a knockout home clash with Mariupol. Kolos and Dnipro-1 will meet in the other knockout game. The winners of those meetings will then compete for a Europa League qualifying stage head-to-head.

Head-to-head record

Shakhtar have 18 league victories over Oleksandriia, 2 draws and 1 defeat. The Miners aggregately scored 42 goals and conceded 15.

Previous league meeting

On June 20, it was in the match against Oleksandriia that Luis Castro's men secured the league title early, although the game was not a walk in the park for the Orange-and-Blacks. In the 13th minute, Taison converted the spot-kick earned by Moraes, with Shakhtar creating a few more chances before the end of the first half, with the score remaining unchanged though. After the break, Oleksandriia managed to partially turn things around: Banada headed a corner into the back of the net, with Tretyakov converting a spot-kick after that. The appearance of Tete who scored a double - assisted by Cipriano and Konoplyanka - turned out to be decisive in the 3-2 victory!