Preview

October 5, Dnipro, UTB Dnipro, 14:00
Broadcast on shakhtar.com
  
Before the match
 
The Miners started the season with 6 wins in a row, but they did not score enough points in the previous 2 rounds after drawing with Desna (0-0) and losing to Vorskla (1-3). Currently, the team of Fernando Valente have 19 points, being in the top three. The Shakhtar defence remains the best: with 17 goals scored, they conceded only 7 goals.
 
The main reason behind the latest results was a busy schedule because many players are also involved in games for Shakhtar U19 in the UEFA Youth League. For example, this week, they had an away meeting with Atalanta (2-2), with as many as 9 Shakhtar U21 players involved.
 
Opponents
 
This is the first campaign of Dnipro-1 U21 in the competition, with the wins not being easy for the team so far. In 8 matches, the Dnipro team earned 6 points (goal difference 6–17) and claimed the 9th spot in the table. In the recent round, Oleksandr Poklonskyi’s men suffered a major away defeat at the hands of Dynamo (0-4). Interestingly, the 3 previous home games ended in a draw.

Head-to-head record
 
The U21 teams of Shakhtar and Dnipro-1 have never met before.