Shakhtar vs Dnipro: match preview

On Thursday, Shakhtar had a successful first leg of the Europa League play-off round with Istanbul Basaksehir and the same night went to Lviv. After a short break the Orange-and-Blacks started preparing for their next Premier League game.

The Pitmen are leading the standings with a 100% result. It is obvious that the team cannot afford to relax: in the 4th round Paulo Fonseca's squad beat Karpaty 3: 2 with a comeback after conceding two goals. As for the game against Dnipro, the Donetsk team will try to get back at them for misfires in the previous seasons.

Referee – Mykola Balakin (Kyiv Oblast)
Assistant referees – Oleksandr Voitiuk (Zaporizhia), Volodymyr Volodin (Kherson)
Fourth official – Yurii Vaks (Khmelnytskyi)
Referee observer – Andrii Shandor (Lviv)

After four rounds of the league, Dnipro is 4th in the standings. Dmytro Mykhailenko's team is 5 points behind Zorya, and 7 points behind Shakhtar and Dynamo. On the whole the team has significantly changed compared to last season: a number of experienced footballers left while young players joined the team.

The Dnipro team started off well in the new season, defeating Volyn with a score of 5-0. But subsequently everything turned for worse - 1-1 draw with Stal, a minimal loss in a match against Dynamo and a draw with Vorskla.

Dnipro's top scorers in the current season are Andrii Bliznichenko and Denys Balaniuk (2 goals each). It should be noted that the former scored his two goals from the penalty spot. Yurii Vakulko, Ihor Kohut and Vladyslav Kocherhin have scored one goal each.

The teams held 49 matches in the league with 23 wins for Shakhtar, 13 draws and the same number of wins for Dnipro. The goal difference is 75-54 for the Donetsk team.

In home games the Pitmen won 14 matches out of 24. 7 matches ended in a draw and Dnipro won three times. The goal difference is 37-15.

In the 18th round Dnipro beat Shakhtar in a home match with a score of 4-1.The Dnipro-Arena hosts have taken the lead in the 10th minute after a goal by Ruiz. The Orange-and-Blacks equalized midway through the half - Malyshev made a header after a free-kick by Srna. But just before the half-time Shakhov gave the lead to Dnipro, and in the second half Zozulia and Bezus distinguished themselves as well.

Shakhtar and Dnipro will hold their 50th match in the Ukrainian Premier League.

The Shakhtar's scoring streak in the league started on August 28, 2015 and has lasted for 24 matches (78 goals).

Leave your prediction for the Shakhtar vs Dnipro game in the Guess the Score contest. Following the results in July and August, the winner will be awarded a Shakhtar jersey, while the other prize winners will receive gifts from the club and Nike.