Kiev’s Dynamo and Donetsk’s Shakhtar will play their first matches in the Conference League. Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s team is set to face English Crystal Palace in Polish Lublin, while Arda Turan’s squad will play in Scotland against Aberdeen. The former player of Kiev’s Dynamo and the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Kovalyets, shared his expectations for these matches.
Serhiy Kovalyets— I read the pre-match press conference of Oleksandr Shovkovskyi and Andriy Yarmolenko. The coach of the Dynamo players said that there would be rotation due to the many matches and travels. At least, Dynamo has two line-ups, as Shovkovskyi demonstrates in the matches of the Ukrainian championship and European cups.
If we talk about the upcoming game, the favorite is certainly Crystal Palace, which has not lost in 18 matches. Therefore, Dynamo has a great chance to end this streak and inflict the first defeat on the English. The opponent of the Kyiv team has been showing good results for a long time. If I’m not mistaken, this year they won two trophies — the FA Cup and the English Super Cup.
Currently, Crystal Palace is coached by Austrian specialist Oliver Glasner. It is noted that there is a very good atmosphere in this team right now, and the club believes that it can achieve a good result in the Conference League. Therefore, I am convinced that it will be difficult for Dynamo in this game. Because knowing the characteristics of the English Premier League, the intensity is quite high. In this regard, unfortunately, we might fall short against the English.
— What do you say about the duel between Aberdeen and Shakhtar?
— Before talking about it, I would like to point out one of the main problems of Ukrainian clubs in European competitions. It is that we play all matches away. Whether you like it or not, if the games were held in Donetsk or Kyiv, Zhytomyr or Lviv — I am sure the results would be better.
And although our clubs have good support in Poland and Germany, they are still not home arenas. It is no coincidence that it is said that home and loved ones help. In this regard, Aberdeen will have great support from the Scottish “ultras,” known for their active support.
We all know very well that the style of British football is physical play, with a lot of long and wing passes. Shakhtar will need to be ready for this. However, the miners have a big plus: the team controls the ball well, and the speedy Brazilians effectively transition from defense to attack. Therefore, Shakhtar has a better chance of winning.
Andriy Pysarenko
