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A jubilant Slovakia side meet a (so far) underachieving Ukraine team in the second round of fixtures in Group E, with Francesco Calzona’s side looking to gain another crucial three points in their bid to make the last 16.
Slovakia sprung the first real shock of Euro 2024 after beating a much-fancied Belgium side 1-0 in their opening game, with Ivan Schranz the hero after a mistake from Man City’s Jeremy Doku.
Ukraine opened their campaign against Romania earlier on the same day, with another surprise in the group as Romania beat their eastern European neighbours 3-0 thanks to goals from Stanciu, Marin and Dragus.
The result leaves Ukraine – who boast the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mykhailo Mudryk and LaLiga top scorer Artem Dovbyk in their ranks – at the bottom of Group E, likely needing at least a draw to keep their hopes of qualification alive. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Group E fixture.
When is Slovakia vs Ukraine?
The fixture will kick off at 2pm BST on Friday 21 June at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.
What TV channel is it on?
Slovakia vs Ukraine will be shown live on BBC 1 and iPlayer, with coverage starting at 1.30pm. You can find a full list of which channel is showing each match here.
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What is the team news?
Ukraine have no fresh injury concerns after the loss to Romania. The nature of their performance means that changes are to be expected as they look to grab a much-needed win, though you can expect Artem Dovbyk, Mykhailo Mudryk and Oleksandr Zinchenko to retain their places.
Sudakov and Tsygankov could well make way for Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk or Malinovskyi if Ukraine look for attacking changes. Lunin should start in goal despite a poor performance in the opener, while Everton left-back Vitaly Mykolenko – who was ruled out of the first game through injury – could make a return to the side, allowing Zinchenko to move to midfield, where he often plays for his national side.
Though Ondrej Duda limped off with cramp in the win against Belgium he should be fit to face Ukraine, and there are no other known injury concerns at this point. Francesco Calzona will likely choose the same starting eleven that earned the famous victory in Frankfurt, with the impressive Haraslin, Bozenik and Schranz leading the attack.
Confirmed line-ups
Slovakia XI: Dúbravka, Pekarík, Vavro, Škriniar, Hancko, Kucka, Lobotka, Duda, Schranz, Boženík, Haraslin
Ukraine XI: Trubin; Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko; Shaparenko, Brazhko; Yarmolenko, Sudakov, Mudryk; Dovbyk
Odds
Slovakia – 23/10
Draw – 7/4
Ukraine – 1/1
Prediction
The odds seem heavily stacked in Ukraine’s favour, but the opening showings from both sides suggest that this match will be closer than previously thought. If Ukraine’s attack can click, they should be able to get a win, but Slovakia will undeniably be buoyed by their win over Belgium. Ukraine’s side is still stronger on paper, especially in attack, but we fancy Slovakia to build on a brilliant start. Slovakia 1-1 Ukraine
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Source: independent.co.uk
