Ukraine will begin their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign when they take on England at Wembley on Sunday, while the Three Lions already have three points to their name.
Indeed, Gareth Southgate’s find themselves atop Group C after claiming a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Italy in Naples on Thursday.
"We want to keep progressing. We want to keep winning games." 💬The boss reflects on the #ThreeLions' first win away to Italy since 1961...pic.twitter.com/XyqmYOcSYU— England (@England) March 24, 2023
"We want to keep progressing. We want to keep winning games." 💬The boss reflects on the #ThreeLions' first win away to Italy since 1961...pic.twitter.com/XyqmYOcSYU
With North Macedonia and Malta completing Group C, England and Ukraine will both be eager to pick up a positive result to keep Italy at the foot of the standings.
England kicked off their campaign with an impressive win against the Italians, with Declan Rice and Harry Kane grabbing the goals in the first half.
Despite Mateo Retegui’s second-half strike – and Luke Shaw’s late red card – the Three Lions held on to claim all three points in Naples.
Including friendlies, Southgate’s men have now lost just four of their last 21 matches across all competitions, picking up 11 wins and six draws along the way.
It is also worth noting that seven of England’s previous nine outings have produced over 2.5 goals, with the Three Lions scoring over 2.5 goals on four occasions in that time.
As for Ukraine, their last game came all the way back in September, when they played out a goalless draw with Scotland.
The Ukrainians enjoyed a strong Nations League campaign last year, recording three wins, two draws and one loss to finish second in their group.
Not only did they score 10 goals across those six games, but they also conceded just four, keeping four clean sheets in the process.
On top of that, Ukraine have only lost two of their past eight matches in all competitions, securing four wins and two draws during that period.
Head-to-head: Ukraine have only managed to win one of their eight meetings with England across all competitions over the years.
The Three Lions thrashed the Ukrainians 4-0 at the last European Championship, extending their unbeaten run in this fixture to four games.
Team news: England left-back Luke Shaw is suspended after picking up a red card against Italy, so Ben Chilwell and Kieran Trippier will battle it out to replace him.
Ukraine’s squad contains notable names such as Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk and Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin.
Although England are the favourites to triumph on Sunday, Ukraine’s resilience could see them frustrate the hosts and get something from the game.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Ukraine will hold England to a draw, with both teams expected to score over 1.5 goals in a thrilling contest.