Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Champions League Preview

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Champions League Preview

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Wednesday 19:15 BT/20:15 CET at Stade de Suisse, Bern.  

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv will take place at the Stade de Suisse in Bern.

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv will take place at the Stade de Suisse in Bern.

Dynamo Kyiv has had a perfect start to the 2017-18 season. New head coach Alyaksandr Khatskevich has led his club to three wins in three games in the Ukrainian Premier League and is on course to reach the playoffs of the UEFA Champions League after a 3-1 victory in the first leg against Young Boys Bern.

The game against Young Boys was in particularly impressive. There have been a lot of questions surrounding Dynamo ahead of this season. How would the club cope with the fact that the club has to reach the group stage of the Champions League to give the club the necessary financial freedom to make some investments.

Dynamo’s financial future has come under question after Privat Bank was nationalised in the spring. The bank holds the fortune of Dynamo’s owners the Surkis brothers, and as a result, their has been minimal transfer activities by the club.

Instead, it has been loan returnee Dieumerci Mbokani, who has become the club’s most important player early in the season. The Congolese striker spent two seasons out on loan with Hull and Norwich but has impressed since coming back.

Mbokani was also one of the key players in Dynamo’s 3-1 victory in the first leg against Young Boys. The Congolese striker scored the second goal to make it 2-0. But looking back to the first leg Young Boys could have gone back to Switzerland with a much better result. Christian Fassnacht made it 2-1 in the 91st minute, which would have been a decent result for the Swiss club. Denys Gamarsh, however, scored two minutes later to make it 3-1, which is an almost perfect result for Dynamo travelling back to Switzerland.

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Player to look out for:

Guillaume Hoarau #99 – Young Boys Bern

Guillaume Hoarau is Young Boys Bern’s top striker. The 33-year-old Frenchman scored 18 goals in 21 Swiss Super League games last season. A tall and powerful striker Hoarau has the experience of having played for Paris Saint-Germain (161 games 51 goals) and the French national team (five games). In a relatively young side, Hoarau experience and goal scoring prowess will be necessary for the Swiss team’s endeavour to advance to the next round.

Guillaume Hoarau (L) is Young Boys most experienced player. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Guillaume Hoarau (L) is Young Boys most experienced player. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Dieumerci Mbokani #70 – Dynamo Kyiv

Dieumerci Mbokani is back at Dynamo Kyv after spending the 2015-16 and 2016-17 season out on loan at Norwich City and Hull City. The Congolese striker managed seven goals in 29 English Premier League games for Norwich but then disappointed for Hull last year were played just 12 games and scored no goals. The coaching change at Dynamo and the lack of funds to bring in new players has meant that Mbokani has the chance of a new beginning under new Dynamo coach Khatskevich and thus far it looks like he is making most of his chance as he scored the game winner in the all-Ukrainian Derby against Shakhtar Donetsk and was also the central part in Dynamo Kyiv’s first leg victory over Young Boys.

Dieumerci Mbokani is one of the many loaned out players that have returned to Ukraine during this transfer window. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Dieumerci Mbokani is one of the many loaned out players that have returned to Ukraine during this transfer window. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Match Stats

  • This is the first ever encounter between Dynamo and Young Boys.
  • The two cities are separated by 1729km
  • Young Boys Bern eliminated Shakhtar Donetsk in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying last season.

Futbolgrad’s Prediction: Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv 2-1

Young Boys vs Dynamo Kyiv – Possible Lineups

Young Boys Bern

Formation: 4-2-2=2

Von Ballmoos – Benito, Nuhu, von Bergen, Mbabu – Aebischer, Sanogo – Fassnacht, Ravet – Hoarau, Sow

Manager: Adi Hütter

Dynamo Kyiv

Formation: 4-4-1-1

Koval – Kadar, Khacheridi, Vida, Morozyuk – González, Shepelev, Sydorchuk, Yarmolenko – Garmash – Mbokani

Manager: Aleyksandr Khatskevich

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Manuel Veth is a freelance journalist and social media junior editor at Bundesliga.com. He is also a holder of a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which will be available in print soon. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.

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