"Polissya" - "Kharkiv". Forecast and preview of the Ukrainian Championship match

In the second round of the Ukrainian Premier League, Zhytomyr's "Polissya" will host the football club "Kharkiv" on their home field - both teams started the new championship with victories and will try to continue their successful start.

“Polissya”.

Zhytomyr's "wolves" faced serious difficulties in the first round against "Chornomorets". However, this was hardly a big surprise, as shortly before the start of the championship, the team had to exert a lot of effort in a two-match European Cup confrontation with "Copenhagen".

The Odessans were very close to taking points from the favorite. Moreover, "Chornomorets" took the lead - Robakidze scored in the 13th minute. However, "Polissya" managed to turn the course of the match. Veleten and Krasnopyr scored a goal each and brought Zhytomyr a determined victory.

Elimination from the European Cup was certainly an unpleasant result for the club, but now "Polissya" has the opportunity to fully focus on the domestic championship. The Zhytomyr team probably aims to compete for the top places, so losing points at home in such matches is not an option.

“Kharkiv”.

Kharkiv also started the season with a victory, although they had to wait for the decisive goal until almost the final whistle. The team faced Rivne's "Veres", and the match ended with a minimal victory for Kharkiv - 1:0.

FC "Kharkiv" had more initiative and created chances, but it took a long time to open the score. The breakthrough came only in the 90th minute. Gadzhiev, who came on as a substitute shortly before the end of the match, made good use of his chance and became a real joker for the team, bringing them three points.

The Kharkiv club was one of the most prominent participants in the transfer market before the start of the season. By the standards of the Ukrainian Premier League, the team spent serious money to strengthen the squad, so it is particularly interesting to see how these investments will pay off on the football field. Will Kharkiv be able to join the championship race or at least compete for medals - one of the interesting questions of the new season.

Head-to-head history.

Considering the matches between "Polissya" and "Metalist 1925", which now represents "Kharkiv", the teams have met six times.

So far, the statistics are completely in favor of Zhytomyr: Kharkiv has not won any matches. "Polissya" was stronger twice, and four matches ended in a draw.

Interestingly, three drawn matches ended with a score of 0:0. The history of the confrontation between these teams is not very rich in terms of scoring football, so the upcoming match may well continue this trend.

Prediction.

Both teams started with victories and will obviously try to get the maximum in the second round. The home field factor speaks in favor of "Polissya", which will probably try to work more with the ball and play with the initiative.

From Kharkiv, a more typical style of play can be expected. The team is capable of voluntarily giving the opponent territorial advantage, playing tightly near their own goal, and looking for opportunities in quick counterattacks.

At the same time, expecting a high-scoring shootout in Zhytomyr is unlikely. FC "Kharkiv" knows how to defend well enough, and "Polissya" is still searching for its optimal game. Adding the head-to-head statistics here, we have all the prerequisites for a rather cautious match.

Possible lineups:

“Polissya”: Kudryk, Krushynskyi, Chobotenko, Krasnichi, Mykhailichenko, Babenko, Fedor, Andriievskyi, Nazarenko, Krasnopyr, Andrade.

“Kharkiv”: Yermakov, Krupskyi, Pavliuk, Shabanov, Smoliakov, Kaliuzhnyi, Yatsyk, Profini, Kastylio, Parako, Rashytsia.