“Dynamo and Dnipro must win”

After the first Europa League Round of 32 matches, in which Dynamo Kyiv lost to the French Guingamp (1:2) in a super-difficult away game and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk beat, albeit not without problems, the Greek Olympiakos (2:0) at home, both of our clubs still have real chances to qualify for the next stage of this prestigious European tournament.

Dynamo is, above all, trying to take revenge for the previous defeat which occurred as a result of, among other things, the referee’s errors. It will be recalled that only nine Kyivites played to the end of the match against Guingamp due to the expulsion of Andrii Yarmolenko (40th minute) and Younes Belhanda (45th minute). After scoring a goal in the first half-time (Veloso, 19), Dynamo held out in the minority almost throughout the match, but Guingamp used its quantitative advantage and kicked two goals at the end (Beauvue, 73, and Diallo 75). In spite of the players’ excellent spirit and desire to win, Dynamo will not field three first-string players in the upcoming match. Yarmolenko and Belhanda will skip the game due to disqualification and Serhii Sydorchuk owing to an injury. Besides, according to the club’s website, the physical condition of Jeremain Lens still remains unsatisfactory. Yet, in spite of essential shortage of manpower, Dynamo is calling on the residents and visitors of Kyiv to come to the Olympic Stadium and have even ordered a “full Dynamo soccer mobilization.” Incidentally, tickets are among the cheapest in Europe for a match of this level, their prices ranging between 30 and 300 hryvnias.

Although Dnipro defeated the Greek club Olympiakos 2:0 (Kankava, 50, Rotan, 54) and are, naturally, in a still more optimistic mood for the February 26 match than the Kyivites are, they will still have “to sweat” and make a lot of efforts. For if Myron Markevych’s team is to make its way through to the tournament’s next round, they must not lose the away match against the Greek super-league champion. It is in no way a simple job.

“I favor sound sporting aggression. The Kyivites do have it after the first match against Guingamp, and it will be an additionally stimulator,” says Artem FRANKOV, soccer expert, editor-in-chief of the journal Futbol. “The point is not to ‘burn out ahead of time.’ In a situation when the sense of responsibility is awfully pressing, the guys will rush into attack and may well forget about defense. The problem is in personnel losses. But we will be able to make up for them: the club has a sufficient number of top-level players, such as Vitalii Buialsky and Vladyslav Kalitvintsev. Tactic-wise, the game will depend on Serhii Rebrov. In general, the Kyivites are bound to outplay Guingamp. As for Dnipro, it also stands good chances to go through. The score 2:0 in the first match is a very comfortable advantage. Olympiakos is undoubtedly Greece’s No.1 club. Besides, the stadium will be filled to capacity, and fans will be cheering on their players. But I am sure Myron Markevych will find the right words to ‘bring his players down to earth’ after the first win and instill in them the right mood for this decisive face-off.”