Kalinichenko placed "Kharkiv" above "Dynamo" in his prediction
Former player of the Ukrainian national team Maksym Kalynychenko predicted the final results of the Ukrainian championship.
– Maksym, do you follow the UPL matches?
– I try to watch when I have the opportunity and free time. Of course, not all matches, because I think it's a serious test for everyone to watch all UPL matches. But under equal conditions, I always try to choose Ukrainian championship matches, although I don't always manage to watch all of them (smiles).
– Three rounds are already behind us. What are your overall impressions: who impressed and who performs below expectations?
– Obviously, Karpaty pleasantly surprised. Three consecutive victories, scored ten goals, conceded only one. They play good football. Maybe there is some luck involved, but football is often about luck. We are used to Karpaty always searching for their game, but here everything worked out, at least at the start.
Shakhtar – everything is clear here, they have stability. Zorya unexpectedly defeated Polissya the day before yesterday, although the Zhytomyr team, in general, did not deserve to lose. All these growing pains of the stage of formation still persist in them. And Georgiy Bushchan made a mistake, but I wouldn't blame everything on him, everyone makes mistakes. I expect more from Polissya and continue to consider them as contenders in the championship race, but the favorite is undoubtedly Shakhtar. I expected more from Kharkiv. And from Dynamo... No one knows what to expect from them anymore.
– Let's try to predict the top 5 of the UPL. It will be interesting to check at the end of the season.
– If we consider the team composition, then the top four should be: Shakhtar, Polissya, LNZ, and Kharkiv. Well, let's include Dynamo in this top five. Although Zorya, Krivbas, and Karpaty could break into that group, although I'm not sure if the "lions" will have enough drive for the whole season. The Lviv team has a clear Spanish vector. Practice shows that even not the most famous Spaniards in our championship do not get lost. In Spain, they know how to play football at all levels.
