Sergiy Nagornyak prepares for his Ukrainian Premier League coaching debut as his newly-promoted "Epicenter" side hosts "Shakhtar" Donetsk in the opening round of the 2025/26 season. The calendar hasn't been kind to the First League champions, who must face the Donetsk powerhouse right away, with a match against "Dynamo" Kyiv looming in the third round.
"The schedule is challenging, but this is exactly why we worked so hard to reach the Premier League – to test ourselves against the best," Nagornyak said ahead of the historic match for the Khmelnytskyi region club.
While "Epicenter" hasn't made many high-profile signings, they've secured Andriy Boryachuk, a former "Shakhtar" player who brings valuable experience with nearly 30 goals in over 100 UPL matches. Quite ironic that his first match will be against his former team, isn't it?
Arda Turan, the new "Shakhtar" head coach, has already made a positive impression on Ukrainian football fans. The Turkish specialist, who becomes the first Turkish manager in Ukrainian Premier League history, has guided his team to impressive European results, defeating Finland's "Ilves" 6-0 and Turkey's "Besiktas" 6-2 in Europa League qualifying.
Interestingly, "Shakhtar" approaches this season after finishing outside the top-2 for the first time in 29 years – a situation that adds extra pressure on Turan's squad. The Donetsk club has been unusually quiet in the transfer market, but their existing talent should be more than enough for this opener.
The match will take place on Sunday, August 3rd, at 15:30 at the Roman Shukhevych Stadium in Ternopil, with Klym Zabroda from Kyiv serving as the main referee. By the way, this will be "Epicenter's" historic debut as the 53rd club ever to compete in Ukraine's top flight and only the second from Khmelnytskyi region after "Temp" Shepetivka.
Bookmakers heavily favor the visitors, offering odds of 1.23 for a "Shakhtar" win compared to 17.50 for an "Epicenter" victory. A draw stands at 7.20.
Can the newcomers pull off what would be one of the biggest opening day shocks in UPL history? Or will Turan's men start their campaign with a comfortable win? Sunday's clash should provide all the answers.
Worth noting that "Shakhtar" is currently on an eight-game unbeaten away streak in the championship with five wins and three draws. The perfect record they'll be keen to maintain against the league newcomers.
