Armenia host Ukraine on Saturday in Yerevan on the penultimate day of UEFA Nations League B Group 1. The Armenians have been eliminated from progressing to League A and are fighting against relegation to League C.
Ukraine are in the hunt for promotion to League A. The Yellow and Blue are two points behind Group 1 leader Scotland.
Nothing can stop them, they're all the way up🆙#ARMUKR 🇦🇲🇺🇦 #Armenia #ArmeniaNT #Հայաստան #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/VuNCPlLxmh— Official Armenian FF (@OfficialArmFF) September 22, 2022
Nothing can stop them, they're all the way up🆙#ARMUKR 🇦🇲🇺🇦 #Armenia #ArmeniaNT #Հայաստան #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/VuNCPlLxmh
The Scots won 3-0 against Ukraine in midweek to go top of the table. Now, Ukraine are in a must-win situation. A loss to Armenia and a Scotland win versus Ireland in Glasgow would send the Scots into League A for the next edition of the Nations League.
The reverse fixture between Armenia and Ukraine ended in a 3-0 victory for the latter. Ruslan Malinovsky, Okelsandr Karavayev, and Vitaliy Mykolenko scored for Ukraine, with all three goals coming in the second half.
Since defeating Armenia in June, Ukraine are winless in Nations League play. Ukraine drew 1-1 with Ireland before losing in midweek to Scotland 3-0.
Armenia started the UEFA Nations League with a 1-0 win against Ireland. Eduard Spertsyan scored the match’s only goal to send Armenia to the win. Since winning versus Ireland, Armenia have lost three straight UEFA Nations League matches.
The vast majority of Ukraine’s team is made up of domestic players. The team’s non-domestic players are the real stars of the team.
Andriy Yarmolenko is the Ukraine captain and plays club football for Al Ain in the UAE. Yarmolenko has 45 goals in 110 appearances for the Ukraine national team.
Everton’s Mykolenko should start in defence for Ukraine. He scored in the reverse fixture against Armenia. Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin should start in goal, and Club Brugge forward Roman Yaremchuk is likely to get the nod in attack.
Armenia’s team is also made up mostly of domestic players. The team’s players from outside Armenia play in second and third-tier leagues around the world. Slovan Bratislava’s Tigran Barseghyan could get his 51st cap for the national team. The striker has eight international goals.
Anorthosis Famagusta defender Varazdat Haroyan will likely wear the captain’s armband again. He has 68 caps for the Armenia national team, the most of any player in the current squad.
Ukraine pick up a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture between these sides. Armenia are winless against Ukraine in nine all-time matches. They have a record of 0W-3D-6L dating back to 1997.
Ukraine should post a seventh win in 10 matches against Armenia on Saturday. The Yellow and Blue will keep their hope of qualifying for League A at the end of the group stage alive with a victory in Armenia.