England will be looking to make it five wins from five in Group C when they resume their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against Ukraine in Poland on Saturday.
Having secured four successive victories, the Three Lions find themselves six points clear of second-placed Ukraine in Group C.
Who do you want to see from training, then? 📸#ThreeLions | @LucozadeSport pic.twitter.com/V8EBs8dr4V— England (@England) September 6, 2023
Who do you want to see from training, then? 📸#ThreeLions | @LucozadeSport pic.twitter.com/V8EBs8dr4V
Although Ukraine have a game in hand on England, Gareth Southgate’s side remain firmly in control of their qualification bid for next summer’s tournament.
Funnily enough, the Ukrainians started their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 loss against England at Wembley back in March.
Since then, however, Sergiy Rebrov’s men have recorded two wins and one draw across all competitions, including a couple of qualifying victories.
Following a 3-3 friendly draw with Germany, Ukraine came from 2-0 down to beat North Macedonia 3-2 before defeating Malta 1-0 last time out.
As a result, Ukraine find themselves three points clear of third-place Italy and fourth-placed North Macedonia, giving them a strong chance of reaching Euro 2024.
England, meanwhile, kicked off their qualification journey with an impressive 2-1 victory over Italy, courtesy of goals from Declan Rice and Harry Kane.
After getting the better of Ukraine, the Three Lions thrashed Malta 4-0 before crushing North Macedonia 7-0, with Kane and Bukayo Saka both scoring three goals across those wins.
Not only have Southgate’s men scored 15 goals across their four qualifiers (3.75 goals per game), but they have also conceded just once.
When you look at the bigger picture, England have lost only one of their previous 10 games in all competitions, securing seven wins along the way.
Head-to-Head: Ukraine have managed to win just one of their nine previous meetings with England – and that victory came back in 2009.
The Three Lions have won six of their nine matches against the Ukrainians, scoring over 1.5 goals in five of those victories.
Team news: Ukraine’s squad features a number of Premier League stars, including Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk and Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko.
As for England, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish have withdrawn from the squad due to injury, while Eddie Nketiah and Levi Colwill could earn their first senior international caps.
Although Ukraine are expected to give the Three Lions a run for their money on Saturday, England’s superiority should shine through.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that England will keep a clean sheet on their way to sealing a low-scoring victory over the Ukrainians.