Before the game: "Kharkiv" - "Veres"

The press service of Rovno's Veres published a preview of the match against FC Kharkiv on the eve of the first round of the UPL, presenting their future opponent.

This Saturday, August 1, at the Left Bank Stadium in Kyiv, Rovno's Veres will open a new season in the Ukrainian Premier League. The opponent of Oleh Shandruk's team will be FC Kharkiv. The game starts at 15:30.

Opponent:

FC Kharkiv was founded on August 21, 2016, under the brand Metalist 1925. In their first season, Kharkiv reached the final of the Ukrainian Amateur Championship. The following year, the team made its professional debut.

In the 2017/2018 season, Metalist 1925 finished second in Group B of the Second League and earned a promotion to the First League. Just three years later, the club finished third, following Veres and Chornomorets, and made it to the UPL.

In the first part of the 2021/2022 season, Kharkiv finished tenth (6 wins, 1 draw, and 11 losses) with a four-point gap behind ninth-placed Veres. In the following season, Metalist 1925, like Veres, fought for survival almost until the end of the championship, ultimately retaining its place in the elite league.

Then there was a downturn in the First League. Despite significant investments in the club's development, in the 2023/2024 season, Kharkiv plummeted and dropped out of the Ukrainian Premier League. In the 2024/2025 season, Metalist 1925 finished third in the First League and, after defeating Livyi Bereh 1-0 and 1-0 in the playoffs, Kharkiv finally returned to the elite league.

In the previous season, Metalist 1925 even fought for a place in the European competition zone - however, this fight was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the team finished fifth, the best result since the club's establishment.

Dossier:

Kharkiv.

Year of foundation: 2016.

Previous name: Metalist 1925.

Achievements: finalist of the Ukrainian Amateur Championship (2016/2017), silver medalist of Group B of the Second League (2017/2018), bronze medalist of the First League (2020/2021, 2024/2025)

Highest position in the Ukrainian championships: 5th place in the UPL (2025/2026).

History of confrontations:

The history of the confrontations between Kharkiv and Veres is short but already significant.

The first two matches took place in the 2020/2021 season when both teams were in the First League. In these matches, the red and blacks never won - 0:0 at home and 1:4 in Kharkiv (the only goal for Veres was scored by Mykhailo Shestakov).

In November 2021, Veres and Metalist 1925 met at the UPL level. In Lutsk's Avangard Stadium, Rovno secured their first victory over the Kharkiv club - 2:0. The goals were scored by Hennadii Pasich and Ihor Soldat.

A year later, Veres defeated Metalist 1925 at the NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv - 4:1 thanks to goals from Dmytro Klyots, Oleksandr Lebedenko, Valeriy Kucherov, and Mykhailo Serhiychuk. In the return match in the second round of the 2022/2023 championship, Veres won against Metalist 1925 - 1:0 with a goal from Hennadii Pasich.

In the first part of the following season, Veres again won at home - 4:3 thanks to goals from Yevhenii Shevchenko, Vladyslav Sharay, Vitalii Dakhnovskyi, and Mykola Hayduchyk. In May 2024, in Kyiv, Veres won 2:1 in a crucial match to secure their place in the elite league after goals from Vitalii Dakhnovskyi and Mykola Hayduchyk, sending Metalist 1925 to the First League.

Rovno celebrated their biggest victory over the opponent in August 2024. In the third round of the Ukrainian Cup, Veres crushed Metalist 1925 in Kyiv - 4:0. The goals were scored by Luan Campos, Ruslan Stepanyuk, Mykola Hayduchyk, and Vladyslav Sharay.

However, in the last game of the previous season, Veres suffered their biggest defeat - also with a score of 0:4. This match was supposed to take place in Zhytomyr, but it could not be completed due to the home team's inability to provide stadium lighting. Despite the lack of any reaction from the competition organizers, Veres agreed to finish the match in Rovno.

The final game of the last season also became scandalous. Veres lost 0:1. However, later, the UAF arbitration consultant Nicola Rizzoli acknowledged the referee Andrii Kovalenko and VAR referee Volodymyr Novokhatniy's mistake, who ignored a foul by Volodymyr Saliuk against Kostas Stamoulis.

Previous meetings

Kharkiv - Veres:

10 matches: +3, =1, -6

Goal difference: 14-18

At Kharkiv's stadium:

5 matches: +2, =0, -3

Goal difference: 10-11