The Ukrainian Premier League is back! Here's the preview for Round 18, including where to watch the matches and the bookmakers' favorites.
On February 21, the Ukrainian football championship will resume after a two-month break. During this time, teams have played numerous friendly matches, with some even being eliminated from European competitions, while others have strengthened their squads with quality players, and a few players have even been caught in Russian shelling. UNN discusses the upcoming matches, the teams' mindsets, where to watch the games, and who the bookmakers favor.
"Koloss" - "Chernomorets"
9The first match of the 18th round of the UPL will take place on Friday, February 21, at the "Koloss" stadium in Kovalivka, Kyiv region, where the local team of the same name will host Odessa's "Chernomorets." The match is set to kick off at 15:30.
It's worth noting that the clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League have completed their preparations for the second half of the season. "Koloss" played 9 matches during the offseason, achieving two victories and two draws, while suffering defeats in five games. The first encounter with "Ingulec" took place in Ukraine, with the remaining friendlies held in Turkey.
In contrast, "Chernomorets" played 7 matches during their training camp, securing 4 victories, one draw, and two losses.
Both teams were not very active in the transfer market, signing only a few players. Notably, "Koloss" midfielder Denis Bezborodko left the club to join "Chernomorets." Another midfielder, Diego Karioka, also departed, joining Iranian club "Chadormalu" as a free agent.
Meanwhile, "Chernomorets" signed Emil Mustafaev from "Polessia" and lost Ivan Petryak, whose loan ended, returning to "Shakhtar."
Currently, "Chernomorets" sits in the second-to-last position with 12 points, while "Koloss" has 18 points, placing them 11th. Therefore, bookmakers favor "Koloss," with odds of 1.89 for their victory. "Chernomorets" has odds of 4.55 for a win, and 3.30 for a draw. In the first round, the Odessans defeated "Koloss" 1:0.
It is important to mention that on January 31, Russians struck Odessa, damaging the "Bristol" hotel in the city's central area. Odessa's goalkeeper Chidjoke Aniagbosso was in the hotel at the time of the strike.
"Hello everyone. I just want to say that I am fine. I was at the Bristol hotel when a missile hit. I'm okay now. I'm fine, and I just want to thank everyone who sent me messages and called me. I want to let you know that I'm doing well, and I hope to join the team in training camp very soon," - said the keeper.
Attack on Odessa: elite hotel "Bristol" damaged in the center31.01.25, 20:28 • 58699 views
"Kryvbas" - "Veres"
0The second UPL match will take place this Saturday, featuring "Kryvbas" against "Veres" at 13:00. It is important to note that the match was originally scheduled to be held in Kryvyi Rih, but on February 17, it was decided to move the game to Rivne, although "Kryvbas" will still be considered the nominal home team.
"The agronomists of the club did everything possible to prepare the "Hirnyk" stadium's pitch for the match against "Veres," but the weather conditions and the average daily temperature in the region, which will reach -10 and below throughout the week, hindered the preparation of the field for the game. Therefore, it was decided to hold the match at a reserve stadium. However, since our reserve stadium for the 2024/2025 season is the stadium in Kovalivka, where "Koloss" will play their home match this weekend, it is impossible to conduct the 18th round game at this venue. Given that FC "Kryvbas" initiated the cancellation of the match transfers, we are doing everything possible to ensure that the game takes place on schedule. Thus, according to the competition regulations, which state that if it is impossible to conduct the match at the reserve stadium, the game may take place at another venue with the consent of all parties, our club approached and received approval from the football club "Veres" and the relevant authorities to hold the match at the "Avangard" stadium in Rivne," - the club's statement reads.
"Kryvbas" played 7 matches during the offseason, winning three, drawing twice, and losing twice. Meanwhile, "Veres" played one more match, winning only twice, losing four times, and drawing twice.
"Kryvbas" is currently in 4th place in the table, just two points behind "Shakhtar," who occupies 3rd place and qualifies for European competitions. "Veres" is in 9th place with 19 points. In the first round, "Veres" lost to "Kryvbas" 2:0 at home, so bookmakers favor the Kryvyi Rih team, with odds of 1.9 for their victory. The odds for "Veres" to win are 4.3, and for a draw, 3.3.
"Ingulec" - "Polessia"
1The second match of the round will take place in Zhytomyr at 15:30, on the "Central Stadium." Interestingly, this game is nominally home for the club from Petrove, as "Ingulec" could not obtain permission to host matches in the UPL at their stadium.
"Ingulec" played only two matches during the championship break this offseason - against "Koloss" (victory - 2:1) and "Metalist 1925" (loss - 1:0). The "Wolves" played 7 matches, winning 4 times and losing 3.
The club from Petrove lost several key players during the offseason, notably, Vladimir Vilivald returned to "Kryvbas," and Vladimir Belotserkovets moved as a free agent to "Zarya."
At the same time, "Polessia" actively worked in the transfer market, signing several foreign players, as well as league veteran Alexander Andriyevsky, who joined from "Dynamo" as a free agent.
However, the "Wolves" lost their main left-back Artem Smolyakov, who moved to "Los Angeles" for 2 million euros.
Left-back Artem Smolyakov joined the MLS club14.02.25, 23:12 • 30194 views
The Zhytomyr team is currently in 5th place in the table, while "Ingulec" is in last place with only 9 points. In the first round, the teams played to a 1:1 draw. Bookmakers are confidently favoring "Polessia" with odds of 1.45. Odds for "Ingulec" to win are 7.6, and for a draw, 4.3.
"Rukh" - "LNZ"
2The final match on Saturday will take place at 18:00 at the "Arena Lviv." Lviv's "Rukh" will host "LNZ" from Cherkasy. On Tuesday, February 18, "Rukh" submitted a request to postpone the match, citing "extremely difficult epidemiological conditions" in the region.
However, the next day, the club announced that they had not received a response from the Ukrainian Football Federation, so they decided to proceed with the match.
Rukh's general director Igor Dedushin commented to TaToTake that about 20 team members, including 12 players, had fallen ill with influenza type A.
Bookmakers favor "LNZ