Shakhtar
Manor Solomon (33)
Ukrainian Premier League
1 - 1
Saturday, October 24, 2020 2:00 PM
Bannikov stadium
Vorskla
Vladyslav Kulach (7)
Preview
Match build-up
On the one hand, Shakhtar have a very short time to prepare for the game vs Vorskla because they played Real in Madrid just a couple of days ago. But on the other hand, on Tuesday, the Donetsk side will have the next Champions League match against Inter Milan. That is why the game with Shakhtar's participation opens the Premier League matchday and starts as early as 14:00. Initially, according to the schedule, it was supposed to take place in Poltava, but was moved to Kyiv. The nominal host side in this case will be the Orange-and-Blacks, and in the second stage the teams will compete on Vorskla’s field.
There is no need to remind you once again of the team’s mood after defeating the champions of Spain. Now, it is crucial for them to instantly switch their attention from one competition to the other one since Shakhtar already lost several points at the league start, and to try to properly pace themselves. The return of several players who have already trained in the general group may well help Luis Castro in that.
Opponents
At first glance, Vorskla's high second position looks like the main surprise of the starting rounds, but it is fully justified. The Poltava side has not lost to anyone yet: they have four wins (vs Rukh, Inhulets, Oleksandriia, Olimpik) and two draws (vs Mariupol, Dnipro-1). Although they have not yet met with Shakhtar and Dynamo.
November will mark one year since Yurii Maksymov was appointed as Vorskla manager. This period has been the best for the Poltava outfit in recent years. To differ from the 2017/18 season when Vorskla became the bronze medalists (albeit 24 points adrift of Dynamo), the next two seasons they were unlikely to be happy with their results - the 7th and 10th spots. With the arrival of Maksymov, the team scored a number of important points and reached the Cup final, losing only a penalty shootout, and currently successfully starting the new UPL campaign.
Vorskla's top scorers are Vladyslav Kulach (4) and Ruslan Stepanyuk (3). Vlad has put his name on the scoresheet in the second round in a row, bringing the White-Greens a victory over Olimpik by his accurate shot (in general, those are Vorskla’s ‘favourite’ opponents as they have netted six goals against the Olympians), with Ruslan boasting a three-match scoring streak early this season.
Head-to-head record
The teams have met 50 times: Shakhtar have 38 wins, Vorskla have 3, along with 9 draws. The goal difference is 103-29.
Previous meeting
On March 1st, Vorskla managed to defeat Shakhtar who then returned from Portugal after their success in a two-legged Europa League duel vs Benfica. The only goal was scored by Ruslan Stepanyuk: he netted it in the 30th minute after Oleksandr Sklyar’s assist.
Shakhtar Vs. Vorskla history
Recent games
Ukrainian Premier League
Sat 24
•Oct 2020
•14:00
Bannikov stadium
Referee: Vitaliy Romanov
P | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | PNT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Vorskla | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Desna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | Dynamo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5 | Dnipro-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Zorya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
7 | Inhulets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | Kolos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
9 | Lviv | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
10 | Mariupol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
12 | Minaj | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
13 | Oleksandriia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
13 | Olimpik | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 28 | 48 | 22 |
14 | Rukh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 | Shakhtar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |