Football. ua continues to analyze the performances of elite teams in the first part of the championship.

Vorskla 3rd place - 31 points Waiting We will be frank, in the presence of Dawn hardly anyone a priori considered the team of Vasily Sachko a real contender for the championship medals. In addition, the situation with funding in the Poltava club has long become one of the parables in ezinez, which clearly did not predispose to positive forecasts. Yes, and the composition of Vorskla, despite its teamwork, by name is far from the strongest in the country, which gave rise to the idea that getting into the six by the results of the first stage will be a very good result, and if the Poltava club will be in 4-5 places , then we can safely talk about sensational take-off.

Reality It turned out otherwise. The rout from Shakhtar (0: 3) in the starting round as if spurred Sachko's wards, and a successful series of victories began. Even a zero draw with Dynamo will completely go down for a positive result, and only towards the end of the autumn the machine on a set of tournament points gradually began to fail. However, despite this fact and the concomitant loss of competitive points by competitors, Vorskla quickly returned to the pedestal, and for the winter break left in the status of the main contender for bronze medals. In the spring, the Poltava residents will have a hard time, for surely a strong Luhansk competitor will infringe on the third line to the last, and from Veres to Olympique it is unclear what to expect. Naturally, the team will need a high-quality reinforcement, and the leadership of the "white-green" will certainly try to keep their leaders, but if this is enough for the ultimate success,.

Dynamo 2nd place - 39 points Expectation Even considering the change of coach in the Kiev club, there are no other tasks, except maximal ones, before Alexander Khatskevich is put. And could it be otherwise, if the previous championship Dynamo frankly failed, and during the period of cadence of Sergei Rebrov had time, they say, to get used to the victories in the domestic arena. At the same time, football specialists and fans clearly understood that the Dynamo again faced the most difficult struggle with sworn opponent Shakhtar, and the disposition of miners looked somewhat preferable in the summer.

Reality From the very beginning of the championship, Khatskevich managed to surprise the public with a strained victory over Chernomorets (2: 1), which left far more questions than gave adequate answers. After that meeting, hardly anyone expected Dynamo's success in Kharkov, where it accepts its rivals Shakhtar. Still, Victoria in the battle for the USC Metalist, contrary to the forecasts, went to the guests, which gave reason to talk about the actual parity chances of the grandees for the championship crown. This very parity was violated ... by the people of Kiev. A series of September failures and the already famous outgoing to Mariupol, it would seem, almost buried the intrigue in the championship, but then the prodigality of the miners interfered in time. In addition, the Kiev confrontation of the leaders turned into a frankly dull spectacle, and the score of 0-0 completely reflected its logical content. Despite the obvious personnel problems, the team Khatskevich left for a winter break with a good prospect to catch up with the traditional opponent who left ahead. I think, in case of qualitative strengthening and progress of already shot young people, the chances of Dynamo for the cherished title are quoted quite high.

Shakhtar 1 place - 42 points Expectation The triumph of last season obliged miners to repeat the success and in the current season. This was seen in the summer, and little has changed since the battles that broke off the first part of the championship. Paulo Fonseca has repeatedly stated that the main goal of his team is the championship title, and it was noticeable that the Portuguese bet on the domestic competition. At the same time managed to go in parallel to the playoffs of the Champions League from the most complex group. So maybe the Portuguese coach was bluffing? !!.

Reality Despite the leadership following the summer-autumn period, it is unlikely that the miners themselves can be satisfied with their game and the results. A number of optional loss points can still spring to Donetsk in the spring, besides, two meetings with the main competitor have not ended anything good for Shakhtar - the defeat and a zero draw. At the same time Donetsk club rarely showed its total advantage over weaker opponents - either because of their underestimation, or from the banal lack of internal motivation. In addition, the problem of the dependence of the team play on the mood of the Brazilians, the disqualification of the recognized leader of Srna, and the injuries did not bypass the miners. However, combining the fight on four (with the combined teams) fronts, the team Fonseka in most cases still sought its own, blurring only the ending of the calendar year (the very defeat of the Dawn - 2: 1).

Prospects of the Miner largely depend on the twists and turns of the winter off-season, it's no secret that the Donetskese Brazilians have been closely watched by the breeders of foreign clubs for more than one year, and Fonseke, frankly, are simply not equal to replace their leading performers. And yet, miners are objectively seen as the main favorites of the championship race, and they will surely do everything to confirm their ambitions in practice.