From today until Sunday, Ukrainian fans will enjoy the third round of the Ukrainian Premier League. We will find out this weekend whether Chornomorets and L'viv Berehir will be able to overcome the crisis, whether they will continue to fall to the bottom of the standings, whether Luhansk Zorya will be able to hold the first place in the championship, whether Dynamo Kyiv will be able to continue its winning ways, or whether Karpaty will stumble over a newcomer. UNN decided to tell you with what mood the teams approach the matches, who is the bookmakers' favorite and where to watch the UPL matches.
Chornomorets vs Kolos
The teams that have not yet won this season, Chornomorets and Kolos, will open the third round of the UPL at the Chornomorets Stadium.
Odesa did not score any points in the first two rounds - 2 defeats against Zorya and Kryvbas - twice 1-0. Although Kovalivka did not win, they did not lose either - two draws against Obolon (2:2) and Ingulets.
The statistics of head-to-head meetings in the UPL are almost identical - 3 wins for Kolos, 2 wins for Chornomorets and two draws.
Last season, the teams exchanged victories over each other. In the first match, Kolos defeated Chornomorets 2-0 at their home stadium, and in the second round of the UPL, Chornomorets defeated Kovalivka 1-0 at their home arena.
It will be possible to see whether Odesa will manage to break the losing streak, which lasts 4 games in the league, and inflict Obolon's 60th defeat in the league, or suffer their 41st defeat under Oleksandr Babych, at 15:30. The match, like all other matches of the third round, can be watched on UPL TV.
Bookmakers give Kolos 2.07 odds to win, Chornomorets 3.95, and 3.4 for a draw
Vorskla vs Obolon
Another match on Friday will be played by Vorskla Poltava and Obolon Kyiv. Last round, Vorskla rehabilitated for the defeat against Shakhtar by beating Left Bank 3-0, breaking the winless streak on the opponents' fields in the UPL, which lasted 5 games: a draw and 4 defeats. Another interesting achievement was made by Poltava midfielder Artem Chelyadin, who, at the age of 24, has already reached the mark of 100 matches in the UPL. In addition, in the last round, the young performer scored his 5th goal in the UPL.
Artem Chelyadin
At the same time, Obolon lost to Rukh 4-0, suffering its biggest defeat in the Ukrainian league since the club's re-establishment. Moreover, Brewers goalkeeper Oleksandr Rybka missed his 10th of 13 penalty kicks in the UPL.
In total, the teams have met three times in Obolon's recent history: twice in the UPL last season and in the Ukrainian Cup. In all three matches, the Poltava team was stronger - 3:0, 1:0 and 3:1.
We will find out at 18:00 whether Vorskla will be able to win 280 UPL games, or whether Obolon will be able to break the winless streak on the opponents' field, which has lasted for 9 games.
The bookmakers favor Vorskla, albeit by a small margin - 2.1. The odds for a draw are 3.2, and for Obolon to win are 3.8.
Zorya vs Oleksandriya
Zorya Luhansk and Oleksandriya from the city of the same name in Kirovohrad Oblast will open the day's games on Saturday. "Zorya is unbeaten so far, having gained maximum points by beating Ingulets 2-1 in the last seconds of the first round and the aforementioned Chornomorets, in which Luhansk striker Eduardo Guerrero scored his 15th UPL goal. Who knows, maybe Guerrero will be able to extend his goal tally in the match against Oleksandriya.
Eduardo Guerrero
"Oleksandriya also won its match against LNZ last round 2-0, starting the fifth consecutive UPL season with a victory, but the team played one less game, as the head coach of Oleksandriya Ruslan Rotan was absent due to the participation of the Ukrainian Olympic football team in Paris, which is why the team missed the first round against Dynamo.
The teams have played a total of 44 head-to-head matches, including 26 in the Premier League. Zorya has only two more victories - 10 against 8 for Oleksandriya. There were also 8 draws in the confrontation between the teams. Last season, in a two-match confrontation, Zorya won once - 2: 0, and in the other match there was a zero draw.
By the way, Rotan has recently resigned from the post of youth national team of Ukraine, which he has headed since 2018, combining work in the national team and the club since 2022.
"The national team not only regularly trained personnel for the national team, but also achieved high sports results. The semifinals of the Youth Euro and the historic first participation in the football tournament of the Summer Olympics will forever be inscribed in history," said Andriy Shevchenko, UAF President and Rotan's former teammate.
Ruslan Rotan and Andriy Shevchenko
Руслан Ротань припинив співпрацю з УАФ13.08.24, 16:58
Perhaps, by focusing on his work at the club, Rotan will be able to get a second consecutive victory in the UPL, which we will find out at 13:00.
Bookmakers offer to bet on Zorya with odds of 2.3. The odds for a draw in the match are 3.4, and for Oleksandriya to win are 3.4.
Polissia vs Ingulets
Another match on Saturday will be played by Zhytomyr's Polissia and Petrovo's Ingulets from Kirovohrad region. "Polissia is unbeaten in this UPL draw, having sensationally beaten Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in the second round.
In addition to the goals, that match was memorable for a fight at the end of the match, as well as a pleasant surprise for the players from the president of Polissia Gennadiy Butkevich, who gave the players five times the bonus money. Butkevich explained his decision with a famous Soviet joke.
"The head of the collective farm gathered the collective farmers and said: "We need to discuss the issue. The collective farm has received two Volgas, one white and one black. Of course, we'll give the white one to the chief accountant-not because she's my wife, but because she's a good accountant. I'll keep the black one, of course." The blacksmith holds out his hand. The chairman: "Just two words." "Well, good for you, f*ck." Two words - five bonuses," Butkevich said.
"After returning to the UPL, Ingulets played two games, losing to Zorya 1-2 and drawing with Kolos.
The teams have never met in their history, so the match will be historic.
You will be able to watch the first match between the two at 15:30.
The bookmakers give Polissya a strong preference - 1.7 odds, 3.7 odds for a draw, and 5.5 odds for Ingulets to win.
Karpaty vs Dynamo
The last match of Saturday in Lviv between local Karpaty and Dynamo Kyiv. "Dynamo has already played 5 official games this season, including the Champions League qualifiers. In the UPL, Kyiv started last week, beating Veres 2-1, scoring their 950th and 951st away goals in the UPL.
Mykola Shaparenko also scored his 20th goal in the UPL.
Mykola Shaparenko (left)
Instead, Karpaty managed to draw a boring zero with the same Veres and beat last year's bronze medalist Kryvbas 3-0, gaining their first crushing victory in the UPL.
In addition to the goals, that match was remembered for the scandal in which Kryvbas coach Yuriy Vernydub refused to shake hands with Karpaty coach Vladyslav Lupashko.
Lupashko claimed that Vernydub may not have noticed him, but a video appeared on the Internet, in which a member of the Karpaty coaching staff allegedly said: "Suck, f*ck".
Who is right and who is wrong will remain a mystery. We hope that the coaches will be able to resolve this conflict.
In the recent history of Karpaty, the teams have never met. If we take the Karpaty, on the basis of which the new team was created, the teams played 52 games in the UPL, in which Dynamo is confidently ahead - 34 wins to 6 for Karpaty. Another 12 matches were tied.
It will be possible to find out at 18:00 whether Dynamo will be able to continue their winning ways after the victory over Rangers in the Champions League qualifiers, and whether the fatigue of Kyiv will not show, allowing Karpaty to get points.
The bookmakers give Kyiv a confident victory at 1.4. The odds for a draw are 4.8, and for a victory for the Carpathians are 7.8.
"LNZ" - "Movement"
Sunday's matches will be opened by LNZ Cherkasy and Rukh Vynnyky. Cherkasy managed to defeat Left Bank 1-0 and lose to Oleksandriya. Rukh, on the other hand, in their first UPL match (they missed the first round due to the Olympics), left no stone unturned against Obolon, gaining a number of achievements, including: their first crushing victory in the UPL (in 104 games); breaking the record draw in the UPL, which lasted 3 games and winning their 30th victory in the UPL.
Instead, LNZ broke the club's winning streak, which lasted 4 matches.
The teams met only two times last season, when they each won once - LNZ won 2-1 at home and Rukh took revenge at home - 1-0.
Who will come out on top in terms of head-to-head victories? We will see if the match will be a draw this Sunday at 15:30.
The bookmakers cannot decide on the favorite of the pair, giving almost equal odds - 2.7 for LNZ to win and 2.6 for Rukh to win. The odds for a draw are 3.5.
Veres vs Kryvbas
Another loser of the last round will play their match in Rivne, where Kryvbas will visit the local Veres. As already mentioned, Veres lost to Dynamo in their 90th home match, breaking their 5-game unbeaten home streak: 2 wins and 3 draws.
Also, as we wrote above, Kryvbas lost to Karpaty, thus suffering its 280th UPL defeat, if we take into account the team's results before the disbandment.
After Kryvbas was restored, the teams met 5 times, with Kryvbas having the advantage - three wins against Veres' one.
Will Kryvbas be able to pull away in the two-match match, you can watch at 15:30.
Livyi Bereh vs Shakhtar
The final match of the round will be played by Shakhtar, who, as already mentioned, lost to Polissya, breaking their winning streak in the UPL, which lasted 9 games, and the outright loser of the championship, Livyi Bereh, who not only has not yet scored a single point in the UPL, but also managed to lose in the 1/64 finals of the Ukrainian Cup to the first-league Kudrivka - 3:2.
The teams have not yet met in their history.
Will Kyiv be able to repeat the success of Polissia and create another sensation in the UPL, or will they suffer their fourth defeat in a row, we will find out this Sunday at 18:00.
After Kyiv's poor performances, bookmakers give the team a 19% chance of winning. The odds for a draw are 8.6, and for Shakhtar to win are 1.16.