Today, on December 12, Dynamo Kyiv and Real Sociedad of Spain will meet at the Real Arena stadium in the 5th round of the Europa League group stage. UNN decided to tell you how the teams approach the game, where to watch the match, and who is the bookmakers' favorite.
Details
Tonight at 22:00, Dynamo Kyiv and Real Sociedad will meet at the Real Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain. The broadcast can be watched live on the Megogo platform.
German specialist Harm Osmers has been appointed as the main referee, and he will be assisted by Dominik Schaal and Stefan Schlupp on the tape. Benjamin Brand has been appointed as the VAR referee.
This match will be historic, as the teams have never met before. Bookmakers give the Spaniards a landslide victory at odds of 1.46, while Dynamo's victory is 7.6. The odds for a draw are 4.5.
Real Sociedad is not one of the giants of Spanish football, but 40 years ago it won the Spanish Championship twice (1981, 1982). More recent achievements include winning the Spanish Cup in 2020. Imanol Alguacil has been the head coach since December 2018.
“Real Sociedad is in the middle of the Europa League standings, ranked 16th. Meanwhile, Dynamo has never won in the current Europa League draw and is in last place in the table with zero points.
“Real Sociedad has played against the Ukrainian club only twice - it was Shakhtar in the 2013/14 Champions League. Back then, Donetsk won both matches with a total score of 6-0.
It is worth noting that it was against the Spaniards that Shakhtar played their last match in the Champions League at the Donbass Arena.
In the domestic league, Dynamo defeated Oleksandriya 3-0 in the last round, and Real Sociedad beat Leganes with the same score.
The day before, Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi said that Andriy Yarmolenko, Taras Mykhavko and Mykola Shaparenko would not be available for the match against the Spaniards.
“Of course, I will not tell you the plan and strategy for the game. Now at the training session you will see a team that is preparing for a fundamental game and fight. We can choose any strategy, but there is a game that consists of every single moment on the football field. And this pattern of play must be reinforced in every link - both in attack and defense. It must be a harmonious structure, and the guys who take the field must fulfill the task they will face to the best of their abilities and show their best game. Everyone has already realized that in order to win such a tournament, you need to go out and play with courage, heart, passion and be ready for any moment,” Shovkovsky said about what he expects from today's match.
Recall
Ukrainian football club Shakhtaris 27th in the UEFA Champions League standings after six rounds.