In the 24th round of the Premier League, the central match will be the game in Poltava between Vorskla and Dynamo Kyiv. Former Dynamo Kyiv striker Oleh Salenko expressed his opinion on the two teams.
- Oleh, does the Vorskla vs Dynamo match meet the status of a centerpiece in the 24th round?
- According to the current indicators, no. These rivals are not the leaders of the championship, they just have big names. This is an average match of the championship, in which, in my opinion, Dynamo needs a victory to be able to compete for medals... And Vorskla still has the opportunity to cling to the European Cup zone, although this task will not be easy.
- Dynamo has no matches left with competitors for medals. Does this complicate the task for Kyiv?
- Of course it does. Now we need to hope for misfires from our opponents and not lose points ourselves. At the moment, there is no question of fighting for first or second place. For Dynamo, in the current situation, a good option would be to take third place and qualify for the Europa League.
It is hard to assume that Shakhtar, Dnipro-1 and Zorya will all lose points in the next round. Nowadays, the leading teams rarely stumble.
- Vorskla wants to make it to the European competitions. Is it realistic for them to beat Oleksandriya?
- In principle, it's possible, because in the spring, Oleksandriya hasn't been impressive. But there is also Kryvbas, Kolos... Therefore, it will be very difficult for Poltava to get into the European Cups, as Viktor Skrypnyk's team will have to play against Kryvbas and Kolos, not to mention matches against Dynamo, Dnipro-1 and Shakhtar.
- Much more was expected from Poltava and Kyiv this season. Can we already say that these clubs have failed the championship?
- The fact that Dynamo failed the season is unequivocal. Yes, Dynamo are now showing some results, but Zorya are five points ahead, and it will be very difficult to eliminate this handicap. It is quite difficult to assess Vorskla. They seem to have a lot of energy, but in the second half, the Poltava team sits down, and it has happened more than once that they lost points shortly before the final whistle.
- What is your prediction for the Vorskla vs Dynamo match?
- I hope that Dynamo's defenders will not fall down near their goal... I think that Kyiv's team is superior in terms of readiness and skill, so I will give them the victory. I see the score 1-0 in favor of the guests, maybe even 2-0.
Yaroslav Pyatnitsky