Ukraine host Serbia on Friday night in their third Euro 2020 qualifying fixture of the campaign. The Serbians need a big result in Lviv but Ukraine will be a tough team to defeat.
Manager Andriy Shevchenko has led Ukraine to four points from six possible. The Ukrainians drew on matchday 1 against Portugal nil-nil before defeating Luxembourg 2-1. Shevchenko will be confident his side can continue their great start to qualifying on home soil.
Serbia go into the fixture having played just one match in Group B. Mladen Krstajic’s team achieved a 1-1 draw against Portugal in their first Group B fixture. It was a match that saw the Portuguese forced to come from behind thanks to an early Dusan Tadic penalty.
Krstajic’s side should go into Ukraine confident of leaving with a point. Serbia are stacked with some promising players with unlimited potential.
Perhaps no player has as much potential, however, than striker Luka Jovic. The Serbian hitman sealed a €65 million transfer to Real Madrid this week after bagging 27 goals in 48 games for Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt.
Shevchenko doesn’t have a striker to call upon to turn matches on their head like Serbia. He does have a strong squad made up mostly of players plying their trades in Ukraine’s domestic top flight.
Forward Yevhen Konoplyanka is Ukraine’s most experienced forward. Konoplyanka is coming off of a disappointing season at Schalke in which he scored just one goal in 21 appearances. He is set for a move to Turkey’s Besikitas and will want to impress his new employers before arriving.
Although Ukraine are undefeated with four points from six possible, there are some questions around their goal scoring potential. Just two goals have been tallied in two matches.
Forward Junior Moraes withdrew from the squad due to injury leaving Shevchenko’s options up top limited.
Serbia have not played well against Ukraine in previous meetings. The Ukrainians have posted 3W-0D-0L record in their three previous matches against Serbia dating back to 2008. Ukraine have dominated all three fixtures keeping a trio of clean sheets.
Krstajic does have a strong squad which appeared at the World Cup 2018. Serbia’s Euro 2020 qualifying squad is better than the one that appeared 12 months ago in Russia thanks to the rise of several players including Jovic, however.
Ukraine will benefit from playing on home soil with their fans behind them. Friday night’s fixture should be incredibly close with just one goal separating the Group B rivals.
With goals at a premium already in Group B for Ukraine and Serbia, this match should finish with fewer than 2.5 goals and a clean sheet victory for the home team.