Preview

December 5, Lviv, Arena Lviv, 18:00
The live broadcast will be available on UPL.TV

Match build-up

Shakhtar earned 30 points and are in third spot in the table after 14 UPL matches. The Miners are 7 points behind the leaders, but have an unfinished match against Kryvbas in hand. The Pitmen are also the best in the league in terms of goal difference (38-13). Marino Pusic’s men finished the first stage with a draw with Rukh (1-1), conceding in the stoppage time. At the same time, the unbeaten streak of the Orange-and-Blacks in the championship has reached 10 matches, and the scoring streak lasts 13 games. It is interesting that Shakhtar have always scored against Vorskla in home matches since April 7, 2007 – that is, 18 matches in a row (43 goals).

The Miners' top scorers this season remain Heorhii Sudakov (8 goals, 4 assists), Artem Bondarenko (8, 2) and Oleksandr Zubkov (7, 5). The team prepared for the upcoming match in Lviv, and in a few days the Ukrainian champions will play an important UEFA Champions League match – the Pitmen will host Bayern Munchen in Gelsenkirchen on December 10.

Opponents

Vorskla won 4 matches, tied 4 times and lost on 7 occasions in 15 matches of the first stage of the league and currently are in 11th spot in the standings with 16 points (goal difference: 14-21). At the end of October, the Poltava-based side changed their coach – Yurii Maksymov, who led the team in 2019–2022, returned to the position of head coach. Under his leadership, Vorskla have already got 7 points in 5 UPL matches, in particular, beating Chornomorets (1-0) and LNZ (2-0), but suffering a shocking defeat to the league outsiders Inhulets in the last round (0-3). The most prolific player in the team this season is the Nigerian striker Samson Iyede, who scored 4 goals

Match background

Shakhtar and Vorskla played 58 matches in the Ukrainian Championship. The Miners won 43 times, 10 games ended in a draw, with the Poltava outfit proving stronger in 5 meetings. Total goal difference: 119-36 in favour of the Orange-and-Blacks.

Previous meeting

On August 4, the teams played in Poltava in the round 1 of the UPL. The Miners opened the scoring in the 8th minute after a fantastic strike by Matviienko, and in the middle of the first half they strengthened their lead through a goal from Zubkov. After the break, the Pitmen continued to play ambitiously. In the 67th minute, Sudakov converted a penalty, and in the very next attack, Matviienko completed his brace. Sikan sealed the win 2 minutes before the end of the game. Marino Pusic's players started the season with a confident 5-0 victory.

The Shakhtar vs Vorskla match will be officiated by the judging panel headed by Oleksii Derevynskyi. Assistants: Semen Shlonchak and Vitalii Skoblia. VAR system will be used during the game (Oleksandr Shandor will be the VAR referee).