Verdict: Shakhtar Donetsk win
Best odds: 9/10
Bookmaker: Unibet
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk and cup winners Dinamo Kiev, the two fiercest rivals in the country by far, are set to meet in the Super Cup on Tuesday evening at the Olympic National Sports Complex in Kiev, where Dynamo usually play their European games. No team apart from these two has won the league title since Tavriya Simferopol in 1992, or the Ukrainian Cup since 2010 when it was taken by the same team.
Shakhtar Donetsk
The 2019/20 season was one of mixed success for Shakhtar. They won the Ukranian Premier League very convincingly, with 82 points from 32 games including both the regular part of the season and the championship play-off, 23 more than Dynamo who finished as runners-up. However, they were knocked out of the cup at hands of none other than Dynamo in the round of 16, and after comfortable triumphs over Wolfsburg in the Europa League round of 16 and Basel in the quarterfinal, they were thoroughly beaten by Inter Milan in the semi-final.
Luis Castro’s team started the 2020/21 campaign with a 3-1 win over Kolos on Friday, and their run of last six matches now reads five wins and the 5-0 defeat to Inter. They may have a lot of improving to do to be able to compete for European trophies, but the domestic scene seems mostly to be at their mercy – the 2019/20 title was their fourth in a row.
Team News
Castro won’t be able to count on defender Ismaily and winger Vladyslav Vakula, through ACL and shoulder injury, respectively.
It will be interesting to see if the coach sticks with Taison and Marlos in wide position, or if he decides to give Yevhen Konoplyanka, who came off the bench on Friday, a start.
Dynamo Kiev
As has been said above, Dynamo finished the 2019/20 league campaign second to Shakhtar with a 23-point deficit after the play-offs, but they managed to knock the champions out of the cup in the round of 16. They got past Oleksandriya in the quarterfinals and Mynai in the semifinals, before beating Vorskla Poltava on penalties in the final to lift the trophy.
They competed in the Europa League as well but were unable to get past the group stage, finishing third in Group B behind Malmo and Copenhagen. Only Lugano ended up below them.
From their last six matches on all fronts, Dynamo won four, drew once and lost a pre-season friendly to Desna Chernihiv.
Coach Mircea Lucescu managed Shakhtar for 12 years, from 2004 to 2016, and arguably made them the force they are today in Ukranian football. Consequently, his appointment at Dynamo in July this year didn’t go quite smoothly. The club’s supporters protested fiercely, almost resulting in his resignation after only two days.
Team News
Lucescu should have the full squad at his disposal for this clash, apart from striker Artem Besedin who is under a 12-month doping ban since last December.
Conclusion
Though Dynamo proved themselves capable of beating Shakhtar, there is certainly a reason why the team from Donetsk continues to dominate the league and why they managed to reach the Europa League semifinals, while Dynamo couldn’t reach the knockout stages at all.
Shakhtar are simply the better team, and in addition to that, they will have much to prove after the way they were torn apart by Inter.
Verdict: Shakhtar Donetsk win
Best odds: 9/10
Bookmaker: Unibet
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