Game Day. "Metalist 1925" - "Obolon"
August 4, 2025. Zhytomyr, "Central City Stadium". 1st round of the Ukrainian Premier League. The match starts at 18:00
Referee - Oleh Kohut (Ternopil)
Referee assistants - Nazariy Tsmokanych (Lviv) and Vladyslav Drykin (Rivne)
Fourth official - Ihor Stashuk (Chernihiv)
UAF arbitration observer - Ihor Khiblin (Khmelnytsky)
VAA referee - Viktor Kopiyevsky (Kropyvnytsky)
VAAA assistant - Anastasiya Romanyuk (Ivano-Frankivsk)
VAA observer - Oleh Zubarev (Slovyansk)
Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV
Preview:
Last season in the First League became history for "Metalist 1925". Today, the Kharkiv team will start their fourth season in the Ukrainian Premier League. The first opponent after their return is "Obolon" from Kyiv. At 18:00 in Zhytomyr at the "Central City Stadium," where "Metalist 1925" will play their home matches this season as there is currently no possibility to play in Kharkiv due to the war, the opening whistle of the final match of the 1st round of the new UPL season between "Metalist 1925" and "Obolon" will sound.
The Kharkiv team finished third in the First League last season and won two playoff matches, returning to the Premier League from the "Left Bank." "Obolon" had a better second season in the elite of Ukrainian football, finishing 11th and improving their initial performance by three positions.
Historically, "Obolon" has been a tough opponent for "Metalist 1925". Today, the teams will play their milestone tenth match against each other. In the previous 9 matches, the team from Kharkiv won only two. In the last 5 matches, "Metalist 1925" has been unable to defeat "Obolon," including in two matches of the previous UPL season: at home, the "brewers" won 1:0, and in the return match, there was a 1:1 draw.
"Obolon" held their summer training camp at home, playing 9 friendly matches, where they defeated "Kudrivka," Ternopil's "Niva," "Chornomorets," and "Veres." The "brewers" suffered defeats from "LNZ," Ternopil's "Niva," and "Veres." They concluded their camp with two draws with a score of 1:1 in matches against "Epicenter" and "Poltava."
The opponents of "Metalist 1925" were foreign teams, as part of their preparation was held in Austria. In seven matches, there were three wins, three losses, and one draw. But who the opponents were has been mentioned before. Among the teams that lost to "Metalist 1925" were, for example, Borussia Monchengladbach and Champions League participant Qarabag. And those who beat "Metalist 1925" in the camp were, for example, the Greek giant Panathinaikos and two-time champions of Asia, the Qatar national team.
In the end, only the result of today's match will demonstrate which team is better prepared for the start of the new season.
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"Obolon" (Kyiv). Business card
Year of establishment - 2013
Club colors - white and green
Home stadium - "Obolon Arena" (Kyiv, 26 Pivnichna St.)
President - Oleksandr Slobodyan
Head coach - Oleksandr Antonenko
Official website - fc.obolon.ua
History: The football club known as "Obolon" has been familiar to Ukrainian fans for over 30 years, but this particular "Obolon" was founded in 2013, initially under the name "Obolon-Brovar". After a second attempt, the team managed to overcome the Second League, but had to stay in the First League longer, only debuting in the UPL in the 2023/2024 season. Since then, it is the third consecutive season in the elite of Ukrainian football, finishing 14th and 11th in the previous two.
Achievements: Founded in 2013, the club won awards in two divisions of Ukrainian football. In 2015, the brewers became silver medalists in the Second League. Moving up a division, they immediately achieved success in the First League, with "Obolon" securing bronze. The white-green team achieved even greater success when they reached the UPL, winning silver in 2023.
Geography: "Obolon" is a capital club representing the district of the same name in the northern part of the city, on the right bank of the Dnipro River. The club has gained popularity not only in its territory but throughout Ukraine due to its unique atmosphere.
Head coach: 46-year-old specialist Oleksandr Antonenko leads "Obolon". A native of Zhytomyr region, he spent most of his playing career in the capital region, playing for "Obolon", "Systema-Boreks", and the "Arsenal" from Bila Tserkva. He also played for "Illichivets". He started his coaching career 11 years ago in the system of the current club, which he now heads.
Transfermarkt: According to the well-known portal's estimates, the current squad of "Obolon" is valued at 6.6 million euros, which is more than 7 million euros less than the squad of "Metalist 1925". Currently, there are no foreign players in the capital's team. None of the team's players are called up to the Ukrainian national team. The most expensive "assets" are the two central defenders of the team: Valeriy Dubko and Vladyslav Priymak. Both are valued at 500 thousand euros.
