Matchday. "Metalist 1925" - "Shakhtar"
September 13, 2025. Zhytomyr, "Central City Stadium". 5th round of the Ukrainian Premier League. The match starts at 18:00
Referee - Oleksiy Derevinsky
Assistant referees - Oleksiy Myronov and Svitlana Hlushko
Fourth official - Oleg Kohut
VAR referee - Vitaliy Romanov
VAR assistant - Semen Shlonchak
VAR observer - Yuriy Mozharovsky
UAF arbitration observer - Orest Shmyhelsky
Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV
Preview: in the fifth round, "Metalist 1925" faces a real challenge — the grand of domestic football. Considering Bartulovich's team's successful start, the match promises to be interesting and competitive, as both teams are currently in the top part of the league table.
"Metalist 1925" gained momentum, winning the last two league matches against "Oleksandriya" (4:1) and "Rukh," and between the rounds, the "yellow-blues" defeated "Obolon" in the Ukrainian Cup (2:0). However, at the start of the championship, there was a goalless draw with the same "brewers" and an away defeat to "Kryvbas." Overall, with 7 points in hand, the Kharkiv team shares the fifth place with several other teams. Interestingly, during the international break, "Metalist 1925" played a friendly match, for the third time this season, against "Obolon." By the way, the "yellow-blues" secured another victory - 3:2.
"Shakhtar" started the season back in July with European cup qualifications. First, the "miners" defeated the Turkish "Besiktas" (6:2 on aggregate). Then the Ukrainian team lost in a penalty shootout to the Greek "Panathinaikos," after drawing both matches. Finally, "Shakhtar" secured a spot in the European cups autumn stage by defeating the Swiss "Servette" (3:2 on aggregate). Therefore, the "miners" are now preparing for the main stage of the Conference League. In the championship, "Shakhtar" has 10 points (3 wins and 1 draw) and is currently in second place alongside "Kolos."
Speaking of the teams' head-to-head record, unfortunately, the statistics are not in favor. "Metalist 1925" and "Shakhtar" have met 5 times in the UPL, with Donetsk winning 4 times and one match ending in a draw. Interestingly, the drawn match was historic, as "Metalist 1925" managed to take points from the grand in the opening match of the 2022-2023 season, which was the first match played in a country at war. Is it time to change the statistics?
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Ukrainian Premier League. Matchday 4
Friday, September 12
"Oleksandriya" - "LNZ" - 4:1
"Veres" - "Kudrivka" - 2:0
Saturday, September 13
13:00 "Rukh" - "Epicenter"
15:30 "Obolon" - "Dynamo"
18:00 "Metalist 1925" - "Shakhtar"
Sunday, September 14
13:00 "Kryvbas" - "Polissya"
15:30 "Zorya" - "Kolos"
18:00 "Karpaty" - "Poltava"
"Shakhtar" (Donetsk). Profile
Established - 1936
Club colors - orange and black
Home stadium - "Arena Lviv" (capacity 34,915 spectators)
President - Rinat Akhmetov
Head coach - Arda Turan
Official website - https://shakhtar.com/
Historical background:
History: "Shakhtar" is one of the most titled clubs in Ukraine, founded in 1936 under the name "Stakhanovets," and later received its current name. During the Soviet era, the team did not have the status of a grand, but had certain achievements in Donetsk. However, in independent Ukraine, the team transformed into the main competitor of Kyiv's "Dynamo" and gained the status of the flagship of Ukrainian football. The "Miners" have repeatedly become champions and winners of the Ukrainian Cup, with their greatest international achievement being the triumph in the UEFA Cup in 2009.
Achievements: Winner of the USSR Cup - 1961, 1962, 1980, and 1983
Winner of the USSR Super Cup - 1984
Champion of the First League of the USSR - 1954
Ukrainian Champion - 2001-2002, 2004-2005, 2006-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024
Winner of the Ukrainian Cup - 1994-1995, 1996-1997, 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025
Winner of the Ukrainian Super Cup - 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2021
Winner of the UEFA Cup - 2009
Geography: Currently, "Shakhtar" plays its home matches in the championship and Cup at "Arena Lviv," but the team has a reserve stadium in Kyiv. After 2014, the "Miners" had to host opponents in Kharkiv, Lviv, and Kyiv, which allowed them to expand their already numerous army of club fans. As for the European arena, "Shakhtar" this year stopped in Krakow, Poland, where they nominally play their home matches.
Head coach: In the offseason, "Shakhtar" was taken over by the former famous Turkish footballer, now coach - Arda Turan. Undoubtedly, Turan's player career is bright and filled with victories. The Turk played not only for "Galatasaray," "Manisaspor," and "Istanbul" in his homeland but also left a noticeable mark in "La Liga," where he played for "Barcelona" and "Atletico." With the Turkish national team, Turan played 100 matches, scored 16 goals, and together with the team won bronze at EURO 2008. Arda started his coaching career at "Eyupspor," lifting the team from the third division to the Super League.
Transfermarkt: According to "transfermarkt," "Shakhtar" is expected to have the most expensive squad in the UPL - 152.4 million euros, surpassing the closest pursuer "Dynamo" by 73.15 million euros. Interestingly, currently, there are 12 representatives from Brazil on Shakhtar's roster. The team also has players from Bolivia, Tunisia, Georgia, and Burkina Faso. According to the portal's assessment, the most expensive player in the UPL is the captain of "Shakhtar" and the Ukrainian national team - Mykola Matviyenko, whose value is 16 million euros. Additionally, 7 players from the team, along with Mykola, are among the top 10 most expensive players in the league.
