All sixteen Soviet Top League clubs did not have to go through qualification to get into the competition, so Dnepr and Torpedo both qualified for the competition automatically.
Previously they only met seven times with Torpedo winning four and Dnipro 3, the goals were 7 to 5 respectively. The very first time they met each other on March 12, 1972, at the Round of 16 when Torpedo playing home was victorious 2:0. The last encounter was during the last season when in the semifinals Torpedo once again defeated Dnipro in overtime playing at home.
