Game Day. "Zorya" - "Kharkiv"
August 30, 2026. Kyiv, "Dynamo" named after V. Lobanovsky. Matchday 4 of the UPL. The match starts at 18:00.
Referee - Klym Zabroda (Kyiv).
Referee assistants - Valentyn Kutsev (Kyiv region) and Vitaliy Skoblya (Kyiv).
Fourth official - Sofia Prychyna (Lviv region).
VAR referee - Oleksandr Omelchenko (Slovyansk).
VAR assistant - Oleksandr Berkut (Sumy).
VAR observer - Volodymyr Volodin (Kherson).
UAF arbitration observer - Yevhen Aranovsky (Khmelnytsky).
Live broadcast of the match on the UPL.TV channel.
Pre-match: "Kharkiv" approaches the match with 3 points after three rounds of the championship. The start of the season for Mladen Bartulovich's team was positive - in the first round, Kharkiv narrowly defeated "Veres" 1-0. After that, the team lost to "Polissya" 1-3 and "Shakhtar" 0-1. Thus, in three matches, "Kharkiv" scored 2 goals and conceded 4. Currently, the team is in 9th place in the standings.
At the same time, in the Ukrainian Cup, "Kharkiv" secured a convincing victory over "Kalynivka" with a score of 9-0 and advanced to the next round of the tournament. In this match, goals were scored by Parako, Kalyuzhny, Itodo, Smolyakov, Rashitsa, Zabergdja, Sydorenko, Antyukh, and Castillo.
"Zorya" has 6 points after three rounds and is in 3rd place in the standings. The Lugansk team started the season well with a home victory over "Kolos" 2-0, followed by a loss to "Kryvbas" 1-3. In the third round, Viktor Skrypnyk's team achieved an important away victory over "Polissya" 2-1.
It is worth noting separately the performance of "Zorya" in the Ukrainian Cup. On August 22, the Lugansk team defeated "Skala 1911" with a score of 6-0 and advanced to the next round of the competition.
Before the match, there are no personnel losses due to disqualifications in both teams.
UPL. Matchday 4
Friday, August 28
15:30 "Kolos" - "Obolon" - 0:0
Saturday, August 29
13:00 "Kudrivka" - "Epicenter" - 0:3
15:30 "Left Bank" - "Karpaty" - 1:1
18:00 "Shakhtar" - "Polissya" - 0:2
Sunday, August 30
13:00 "Chornomorets" - "Kryvbas"
15:30 "LNZ" - "Veres"
18:00 "Zorya" - "Kharkiv"
Monday, August 31
18:00 "Bukovyna" - "Dynamo"
"Zorya" (Luhansk). Profile
Year of foundation - 1923
Club colors - black and white
Home stadium - "Dynamo" named after Lobanovsky (Kyiv, Mykhaila Hrushevskoho St., 3, capacity 16,873 spectators)
President - Yevheniy Hulleyr
Head coach - Viktor Skrypnyk
Official website - fczorya.com
Historical background: The club's history dates back to 1923 when a football team named "Metalist" was founded in Luhansk. The team existed under this name until 1936, after which it changed names to "Dzerzhynets" and "Trudovi Rezervy" until it was renamed "Zorya" in 1964.
The greatest success of Luhansk football was achieved in the early 1970s. In 1972, "Zorya" became the champion of the USSR, and in 1974 and 1975, the team reached the final of the USSR Cup.
After Ukraine gained independence, "Zorya" began competing in the Premier League of the Ukrainian championship. After five seasons in the "elite," the team was relegated to the First League, where they spent ten seasons. In 2006, "Zorya" returned to the top Ukrainian division and has remained there since.
After 2014, the team moved to Zaporizhzhia, where they played home matches at the "Slavutych-Arena." After the full-scale invasion began in 2022, "Zorya" relocated to Kyiv. Currently, the team plays home matches at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium.
In the Ukrainian championship, "Zorya" has been a bronze medalist four times and has reached the final of the Ukrainian Cup twice. In the 2025/26 season, the team finished in 7th place.
Achievements: USSR Champion - 1972
USSR Cup Finalist - 1974, 1975
Ukrainian SSR Champion - 1938, 1962, 1986
Ukrainian Championship Bronze Medalist - 2016/2017, 2019/2020, 2020/2021
Ukrainian Cup Finalist - 2015/2016, 2020/2021
First League Champion - 2005/2006
First League Bronze Medalist - 2004/2005
Second League Champion - 2002/2003
Second League Silver Medalist - 1998/1999
Geography: The fan base of FC "Zorya" extends not only to Luhansk but also to a significant part of Ukraine. The core of the fans is traditionally associated with the native region. After the team's forced relocation, support for "Zorya" also formed in Zaporizhzhia.
Over the past decade, "Zorya's" performances in European competitions have allowed the club to attract a wide audience of supporters across the country. Today, "black and white" are supported by fans not only in Luhansk but also in other regions of Ukraine.
Head coach: The head coach of "Zorya" is 56-year-old Viktor Skrypnyk. He took over the Lugansk club for the second time in June 2025.
Playing career: "Dnipro" (Dnipropetrovsk) (1986-1989), "Metalurh" (Zaporizhzhia) (1989-1994), "Dnipro" (Dnipropetrovsk) (1994-1996), "Werder" (Bremen) (1996-2004).
Coaching career: "Werder" U17 (Bremen) (2008-2013), "Werder II" (Bremen) (2013-2014), "Werder" (Bremen) (2014-2016), "Riga" (Riga) (2018-2019), "Zorya" (Luhansk) (2019-2022), "Vorskla" (Poltava) (2022-2023), "Metalist 1925" (Kharkiv) (2023-2024), "Zorya" (Luhansk) (since 2025).
It is worth noting that Skrypnyk is the first Ukrainian head coach in the history of the Bundesliga. As the coach of "Werder," he worked in the German elite division from 2014 to 2016.
Transfermarkt: According to the Transfermarkt portal, the current squad of "Zorya" is valued at 11 million 90 thousand euros. The average age of the squad is 21 years, and the team also includes 9 foreign players from Brazil, Austria, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The most expensive player of "Zorya" at the moment is Brazilian defender Jordan, whose transfer value is estimated at 1 million euros. Next on the list is Ukrainian goalkeeper Oleksandr Saputin - 900 thousand euros respectively.
