Prior to the UEFA Cup Round of 16 first leg match against Metalist Kharkiv, Dynamo coach Yuriy Semin held a traditional press-conference.
- As you know, defenders Badr El Kaddouri and Andriy Nesmachnyy miss the first leg through suspension. Due to these enforced changes, we will try to adopt different tactics and strategies in the match. Metalist are a very well balanced team. They have produced some very good performances in the group stage and have beaten several top clubs.
- Dynamo have recalled defender Vitaliy Mandzyuk from loan at FC Arsenal Kyiv. Will you count on him in the upcoming match?
- Unfortunately, Mandzyuk can’t take part in the UEFA Cup matches as well as Dynamo defender Malkhaz Asatiani. They were not registered in time to compete in their UEFA Cup tie.
- Are there any injury problems in the team?
- Bangoura, Yussuf, Diakhaté… Everybody knows that. Yussuf is expected to return to full training very soon. We hope that he’ll be ready to the second leg against Metalist.
- Is Guilherme ready to play?
- We look forward to Guilherme’s first game for the club, but he needs a bit more time to recover and get back to his best form. He was out for more than two months with a serious thigh injury. In my opinion, he is 60-70 per cent ready at the moment. He will make his official debut for Dynamo when he is in better physical conditions.
- Will Taras Mykhalyk captain the team in Andriy Nesmachnyy absence on Thursday?
- Yes, I think so. Actually, Dynamo keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyy still remains the team captain as he has played more matches for Dynamo than any other player in the squad.
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