Spain are atop of UEFA Nations League A Group 4 and head into matchday 4 of the tournament with the chance to strengthen their lead over the competition.
The Spanish took seven points from their opening nine available and sit two points above Germany. Ukraine have their head above water with three points from nine. They are third in the group and two points ahead bottom team Switzerland.
🗣️ @LUISENRIQUE21: "Solemos apreciar mucho a los rivales a los que nos enfrentamos. Creo haber resaltado a Ucrania, es un equipo fiel a su estilo, pese a las bajas. Es un equipo interesante. Necesitaremos un buen partido para superarles"#SomosEspaña 🇪🇸#SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/irh7QSySvH— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) October 12, 2020
🗣️ @LUISENRIQUE21: "Solemos apreciar mucho a los rivales a los que nos enfrentamos. Creo haber resaltado a Ucrania, es un equipo fiel a su estilo, pese a las bajas. Es un equipo interesante. Necesitaremos un buen partido para superarles"#SomosEspaña 🇪🇸#SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/irh7QSySvH
Tuesday night’s match is the second meeting between the two teams. Spain claimed a 4-0 victory against Ukraine on matchday 2. Sergio Ramos’ two goals lead the team to the victory. Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres both found the back of the net as well.
Ukraine have struggled to score goals in the tournament thus far. They bagged just three goals in their opening three matches. Meanwhile, the team’s defence has allowed seven goals against.
Spain are the world’s No. 7 ranked team. They are unbeaten in eight straight games in international play. The October international break has seen Spain play two games already. They gained a nil-nil draw versus Portugal and a 1-0 win against Switzerland.
Mikel Oyarzabel’s first-half goal was enough to give Spain the win versus the Swiss. Luis Enrique may rotate his team for the third match due to fatigue in the side.
Ukraine, the world’s 24th ranked team, go into the game on the back of a three-game losing streak. After losing to Spain on matchday 2 of the UEFA Nations League, they were thrashed by France 7-1 last week.
They followed up the loss to France with a defeat to Germany, 2-1. The game versus Germany from UEFA Nations League matchday 3 wasn’t as close as the scoreline suggests. Ukraine were down 2-0 by the 50th-minute mark.
Spain centre-back Diego Llorente was sent home due to injury. Enrique previously stated he wouldn’t use the same players for all three games due to the short amount of time between games.
The amount of international football played over the last week and a half should hit the big clubs around Europe hard.
Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko’s squad has been ravaged by positive COVID-19 tests. Their recent results, nine goals conceded in two games, is proof of his lack of top players available.
While Ukraine have fitness issues due to COVID-19, Spain do not have problems currently. The Spanish should claim another win versus Ukraine and strengthen their grip on Group 4.