- League positions: Metalist 1925 are 5th in the Premier League on 46 points from 27 games, while Veres Rivne are 10th on 31 points from 27 matches.
- Metalist away form: Metalist 1925 have won five, drawn seven and lost only two of their 14 Premier League away games this season, averaging 1.29 goals per game for and 0.71 per game against.
- Veres home form: Veres Rivne have won four, drawn four and lost five of their 13 home league matches, averaging 1.00 goals scored per home game and 1.31 conceded.
Veres not in their best moment
Metalist 1925 are in better form than Veres Rivne and are in with a good chance of collecting the three points on Sunday in what should be a tight game between two teams with contrasting styles. Veres have not won in their last five games, with two draws and three defeats, while Metalist have drawn four and lost one of their last five.
This clash of styles should be fascinating to watch. Veres are compact, defensively disciplined and structured under the management of Oleh Shandruk, who has overseen a pragmatic approach since taking charge in December 2023. They are tough to break down when packed into their organised block, preferring to sit deep and protect the midfield, while using their pace on the break to counterattack at low risk.
Veres’ midfield is anchored by Ihor Kharatin, a solid and reliable figure that controls the tempo and creates the space to transition quickly when in possession.
Metalist have the quality to edge this one
Tactical approach
Mladen Bartulovic’s Metalist 1925 approaches games in a more proactive manner, preferring to press the ball, control possession, push the tempo and exploit numbers in the box on the counter. Bartulovic has overseen this style since taking over in June 2025 and his flexibility and ability to change the game flow with his tactics have kept Metalist in games when they have been second best.
Recent meetings
They will have the added spice of a 4-0 rout to remember when they play Veres on Sunday, which was the result of their most recent meeting in the reverse fixture four weeks ago. Disagreements prior to kick-off were followed by Metalist’s thumping home victory, but the record is one win each in the last two head-to-heads and Metalist have yet to win on their two previous trips to Veres.
Back the away win in a tight match
Peter Itodo is the danger man for the visitors, having scored nine goals in 23 Premier League games, while five of Veres’s Premier League goals have been scored by Denys Ndukve in 20 appearances.
They have also dominated the recent H2H record and have more in their locker to win games, so we will take them to edge it at 1.71.
- It will be a hard-fought game between these two teams and I don’t expect the match to see many goals.
- Under 2.5 goals is listed at 1.95, which is a good price considering the odds of both teams scoring are 1.75 on the same bet.
- But the quality of the visitors and the fact they are 15 points and 5 positions higher in the league give Metalist the edge in this matchup.
