Kharkiv - Bukovyna. Preview of the Ukrainian Championship match

On Saturday, September 19, the 7th round match of the Ukrainian Premier League will take place, where "Kharkiv" and "Bukovina" will meet. The match will be held in Kyiv region at "Arena Livyi Bereh", starting at 13:00.

Kharkiv

In the current UPL round, Kharkiv is in fifth place. The start of the new championship was not easy for Mladen Bartulovich's team: after a victory over "Veres", there were defeats against "Polissya" and "Shakhtar". But then "Kharkiv" confidently defeated "Zorya" and "Obolon". Kharkiv has not faced any problems in the Ukrainian Cup so far, defeating amateur team "Kalynivka" (9:0) and First League team "Prykarpattia" (2:0).

One of the heroes of Kharkiv in the previous matches was midfielder Batan Zabergdja, who scored 5 goals and made 4 assists in four games. The solid defense (Kharkiv did not concede goals in five out of seven matches) did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team. Right-back Krupsky received his debut call-up to our national team. The second call-up will be for goalkeeper Yermakov, while center-back Shabanov made it to the reserve list.

But not only the defense, Kharkiv's attack has a solid potential. The team's top scorer is Itodo, who has already scored four goals in the current championship. The Nigerian has problems with finishing, but his teammates create enough chances for him to score.

Kharkiv's unbeaten streak in the championship is six games: 4 wins and 2 losses. In the upcoming match, injured Arevalo and Yatsyk will not be able to help their teammates.

Bukovina

The "Yellow-Blacks" have already shown that they are capable of causing trouble for their opponents in the current championship. The Chernivtsi team has only secured one victory so far, but what a victory it was! The rout of "Dynamo" will undoubtedly be a memorable moment for Bukovina's fans. This week, under the guidance of Serhiy Shyshchenko, the team faced LNZ in a cup match and was eliminated from the tournament after a penalty shootout. Interestingly, the "Yellow-Blacks" have faced the Cherkasy team three times this year, with all games ending in goalless draws.

In the last round, Bukovina drew with "Zorya" (1:1), but they could have won if they had converted the chances they created. "We are, of course, not satisfied with the result. We controlled the game, created many chances, but conceded an unnecessary goal after a counterattack," noted Bukovina defender Andriy Busko. In the match against "Zorya," defender Stasyuk stood out with his statistical achievement. He made 6 key passes, setting a record for this season.

In attack, Bukovina does not look hopeless at all, but they do have problems with finishing. The attacking potential of the team is expected to be strengthened by the forward of the Azerbaijani national team Dadashov, who made his debut for the "Yellow-Blacks" in the last round. The return of Zaderaka to the field, who has recovered from injury, undoubtedly strengthened Bukovina's game. Experienced players Kozhushko and Tankovsky are prominent figures in the Chernivtsi team.

Boychuk and Sakiv are currently in the Bukovina's infirmary. Ilyin may play his 150th match in the UPL on Saturday.

Head-to-Head Statistics

In the 2024/2025 season, the teams played two face-to-face duels in the First League. Kharkiv won both games with the same score of 2:1. The opponents also played two friendly matches, which ended in draws (0:0 and 2:2). In the UPL, the teams will have their first face-to-face encounter.