Game Day. "Metalist 1925" - "Lokomotiv"

March 5, 2026. Kovalivka, Kolos Stadium. 1/4 final of the Vbet Ukrainian Cup. The match starts at 13:00

Referee - Viktor Kopiyevsky (Kropyvnytskyi)

Assistant referees - Semen Shlonchak (Cherkasy) and Viktor Nyzhnyk (Vinnytsia)

Fourth official - Oleksandr Kalonov (Khmelnytskyi)

UAF arbitration observer - Orest Shmyhelskyi (Lviv)

Live broadcast of the match on TV channel and YouTube UPL.TV

Preview: today "Metalist 1925" will play a historic match - for the first time in a decade, the team will play in the quarterfinals of the Ukrainian Cup. Accordingly, in case of victory today, Mladen Bartulovich's team will lead "Metalist 1925" to the debut semifinal of the Ukrainian Cup. Interestingly, Kharkiv residents may become only the second and last UPL club at this stage, where "Dynamo" and the First League "Bukovyna" have already advanced, which eliminated one of the Premier League leaders "LNZ" in the cup competition. The final ticket to the semifinals will be contested by two more representatives of the First League. And today's opponent of "Metalist 1925" - "Lokomotiv" - represents the Second League.

For "Metalist 1925," the "railwaymen" are a kind of former club. After all, the coaching staff led by Serhiy Karpenko headed the youth, reserve, and even temporarily the main team last season. Also, there are several former players and graduates of "Metalist 1925" in the squad. Therefore, for all former players, today's match is a match with special motivation and an additional intrigue of this confrontation.

After the winter break, Kharkiv residents played 2 matches. First, they drew 0-0 with "Kryvbas," and then defeated "Oleksandriya" with a score of 1-0. Currently, Mladen Bartulovich's team is in 6th place with 28 points (goal difference: 19-12).

In the Ukrainian Cup, "Metalist 1925" started its path from the 1/32 finals, where they defeated Kyiv's "Obolon" - 2:0. In the next stage, the team beat "Kolos" from Polonne - 4:1. In the 1/8 finals, Kharkiv residents defeated "Agrobusiness" with a score of 4:3.

"Lokomotiv" is currently in 2nd place in the standings of the Second League (Group B) and has 44 points (goal difference: 41-11). In the Ukrainian Cup, "Lokomotiv" played in the 1/32 finals against "Kolos" (Kovalivka), finishing the match with a score of 2:2 (penalties 4:2), in the 1/16 finals, they beat "Veres" - 1:0, and in the 1/8 finals, they defeated Vinnytsia's "Niva" with a score of 1:0. The season in the third-tier of Ukrainian football has not yet resumed.

In the entire history of the confrontations between "Metalist 1925" and "Lokomotiv," they played 1 match. In the second round of the Ukrainian Cup 2024/25, "Metalist 1925" defeated their opponent with a score of 4:1.

Regarding the squad situation, the majority of "Metalist 1925" players who missed the last championship match against "Oleksandriya" due to illness or injury have recovered and returned to training. However, unfortunately, Vladyslav Kalitvintsev and Ihor Kohut fell ill. Their participation in today's match remains questionable. Ramik Hadzhiev continues his recovery and form-building after a serious injury.

Ukrainian Cup. 1/4 final

Tuesday, March 3

18:00 "Dynamo" - "Inhulets" - 2:0

Wednesday, March 4

15:30 "LNZ" - "Bukovyna" - 0:0 (pen. 4:5)

Thursday, March 5

13:00 "Metalist 1925" - "Lokomotiv"

Tuesday, March 17

12:00 "Chernihiv" - "Phoenix-Mariupol"

"Lokomotiv" (Kyiv). Profile

Year of establishment - 1919

Club colors - red and green

Home stadium - "Lokomotiv," but home matches are played at the "Bannikov" NTC

President - Oleksandr Yehorov

Head coach - Serhiy Karpenko

Historical background: the modern "Lokomotiv" aims to trace its history from 1919 when a team of railway workers "Zaldor" was created in Kyiv. In 1925, it was renamed to "Lokomotiv." Ukrainian railway workers were medalists of the USSR championships - two bronzes. In the times of Independence, Kyiv's "Lokomotiv" competed at the local level. In the seasons 2021/22 and 2022/23, Kyivans participated in the Ukrainian Amateur Championship. The next step was the transition to professional status: in the 2023/24 season, "Lokomotiv" debuted in the Ukrainian Second League. At the end of the debut season, the team finished in 10th place. Currently, the team continues to compete in the Ukrainian Second League.

Head coach: Serhiy Karpenko - Ukrainian football coach and former professional defender, who heads the football club "Lokomotiv" Kyiv. He was born on May 19, 1981, in Boryspil, Kyiv region. As a player, he played for a number of Ukrainian clubs, including "Arsenal" (Kharkiv), "Niva" (Vinnytsia), "Naftovyk-Ukrnafta," "Kryvbas," "Lviv," and others. After finishing his playing career, he started coaching in amateur teams.

Karpenko gained significant coaching experience: he worked with amateur clubs, including leading "Niva" (Buzova), with which he won the Second League in the 2022/23 season. Later, he worked in the coaching staff of Kharkiv's "Metalist 1925," including the U-19 youth team, the reserve team, and even temporarily performed the duties of the head coach of the main team. In August 2025, Serhiy Vasylovych was appointed as the head coach of Kyiv's "Lokomotiv." It is worth noting that together with him in the structure of "Metalist 1925," Vyacheslav Hadi and Andriy Tovt also worked, who are now also coaching the Kyiv team.

Transfermarkt: the team has 26 players. Their average age is 24.9. Artem Sabalayev and Arsen Bielimenko are graduates of "Metalist 1925" who currently play for "Lokomotiv." In addition, at the beginning of the 2025/26 season, the Kyiv team signed Ilya Zubkov, who played for Kharkiv in the UPL in the first two seasons after entering the elite league.