Game Day. "Oleksandriya" - "Metalist 1925"

August 16, 2025. City of Oleksandriia, Nika Stadium. Matchday 3 of the Ukrainian Premier League. The match starts at 13:00

Referee - Roman Blavatsky (Lviv)

Assistant referees - Stanislav Marulin (Kherson region) and Maxim Chos (Kyiv region)

Fourth official - Denis Reznikov (Kamianske)

VAR referee - Maxim Koziratsky (Zaporizhzhia)

VAR assistant - Semen Shlonchak (Cherkasy)

VAR observer - Viktor Shvetsov (Odesa)

UAF arbitration observer - Serhiy Voznyak (Mykolaiv)

Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV

Preview

Today's opponent of "Metalist 1925" is the silver medalist of the previous UPL season. However, the start of the current season for "Oleksandriia" turned out to be unsuccessful: four defeats in four matches. The team was eliminated from the Conference League, losing to Serbian "Partizan", and in the championship, they lost to "Kudrivtsi" and "Obolon". This series can be explained by significant summer changes: a new coaching staff, an updated squad, and the departure of many key players. Among those who left "Oleksandriia" are three current newcomers of "Metalist 1925": Artem Shabanov, Oleksandr Martyniuk, and Ivan Kaliuzhnyi.

The return of the Kharkiv team to the UPL has also not been easy so far. In the opening match, they had a goalless draw with "Obolon". In the second match against "Kryvbas", "Metalist 1925" created many opportunities (xG - 2.14) but failed to score, while the opponent with xG - 0.65 converted two successful attacks.

Despite the disappointing results, both teams were among the leaders of the second round in ball possession: "Oleksandriia" was second, and "Metalist 1925" was fourth. Anton Bol of Oleksandriia stood out for ranking third in the round for the number of completed passes. Among the Kharkiv players, Christian Mba was among the top three players in the most duels, while Ilya Krupskyi shared the lead in crosses and defensive duels.

The head-to-head history is not in favor of "Metalist 1925": in six matches against "Oleksandriia", Kharkiv has yet to win. There are only two draws (in the 2022/2023 season), the rest are losses. So, is it time to change this statistic today?

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Ukrainian Premier League. Matchday 3

August 15

"Rukh" - "Obolon" - 1:2

August 16

13:00 "Oleksandriia" - "Metalist 1925"

15:30 "Kolos" - "Karpaty"

18:00 "Epicenter" - "Dynamo"

August 17

15:30 "Kudrivka" - "Poltava"

15:30 "Veres" - "Shakhtar"

18:00 "Polissya" - "LNZ"

August 18

18:00 "Zorya" - "Kryvbas"

"Oleksandriia". Profile

Home stadium - Nika Sports Complex (Oleksandriia, Shevchenka St., 58-B, capacity 7000 spectators).

President -Serhiy Kuzmenko

Head Coach -Kyrylo Nesterenko

Official website - fco.com.ua

Achievements:

Premier League Silver Medalist - 2024/25

Premier League Bronze Medalist - 2018/2019

Holder of the Premier League Prestige Trophy - 2017/2018

First League Champion - 2010/2011

First League Silver Medalist - 2013/2014

First League Bronze Medalist - 1993/1994, 2000/2001, 2008/2009, 2012/2013

Second League Silver Medalist (Group B) - 2005/2006

Second League Bronze Medalist (Group B) - 2004/2005

History: The football history of Oleksandriia begins in 1948 with the establishment of the "Shakhtar" club, which competed in the lower divisions of the USSR until 1990. In the same year, the club "Polihraftekhnyka" was founded based on a local printing equipment plant, quickly becoming the champion of the Kirovohrad region and making its debut in the First League in 1991, reaching the elite of Ukrainian football in 2001 for the first time. Due to financial problems in 2003, "Polihraftekhnyka" ceased to exist, and its place was taken by PFC "Oleksandriia". In 2014, the club merged with "Ukragrokom" from Holovkivka, and within a year, it reached the Premier League.

Achievements: Until last season, the team's highest achievement was the bronze medals of the Ukrainian championship in the 2018/2019 season. But last season, the team achieved a new outstanding result - silver medals of the Ukrainian championship.

Geography: Oleksandriia is a city of regional significance in the Kirovohrad region, located on the banks of the Ingulets River. It is an important industrial and cultural center of the region, known for its engineering and food processing enterprises. The city has a rich history and a convenient location at the intersection of transportation routes. Oleksandriia is the home of the football club "Oleksandriia" - our next opponent.

Head Coach: The young Ukrainian specialist Kyrylo Nesterenko leads "Oleksandriia." He is 33 years old. A graduate of Donetsk's "Metalurh," he played only one match for the main team. In 2015, he moved to Lithuania's "Šauliai," but the next year, due to an injury, he had to end his player career at the age of 24. Therefore, he started coaching quite early, working in the structures and coaching staff of teams from Kamianske's "Stal," clubs from Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria's "Levski." Before the start of this season, he took over "Oleksandriia." This is his first experience as a head coach.

Transfermarkt: : According to the estimates of a well-known portal, the current squad of "Oleksandriia" is valued at 9.68 million euros, which is over 5 million euros less than the squad of "Metalist 1925." Currently, our opponent's squad includes 9 foreign players representing Brazil, Portugal, France, Ivory Coast, and Albania. The Albanian, Tedi Tsara, has experience playing for his national team, having played two matches for Albania. The rest of the players in the current "Oleksandriia" squad do not have experience playing for their national teams.