Germany will be looking to move clear of Ukraine in Nations League Group A4 when the two sides clash at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on Saturday.
The teams are locked on six points after four games, with group leaders Spain one point ahead and Switzerland bottom on two points.
Preparations are in full swing... 🇩🇪🇺🇦#DieMannschaft #GERUKR pic.twitter.com/UJIjDuMc1A— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 12, 2020
Preparations are in full swing... 🇩🇪🇺🇦#DieMannschaft #GERUKR pic.twitter.com/UJIjDuMc1A
Germany are actually unbeaten in the Nations League this year, picking one win and three draws along the way.
Jogi Low’s side drew their opening two games 1-1 against Spain and Switzerland before beating Ukraine 2-1 on Matchday 3.
However, Germany returned to drawing ways with a thrilling 3-3 tie against Switzerland on Matchday 4, with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry getting on the scoresheet.
After beating Czech Republic 1-0 in a midweek friendly, Low’s men are now unbeaten in their previous 11 outings (six wins, five draws).
Meanwhile, Ukraine kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland but lost their next two games to Spaine (4-0) and Germany (2-1).
However, Andriy Shevchenko’s side secured a shock 1-0 win over Spain on Matchday 4, thanks to a Viktor Tsyhankov strike.
Despite seeing just 28% possession and recording one shot on target against the Spaniards, Ukraine managed to come away with all three points.
Still, Shevchenko’s men failed to claim back-to-back wins in midweek, losing 2-0 to Poland in a friendly.
It’s fair to say that Ukraine have been very inconsistent recently. Since the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign ended, the team have picked up two wins and four defeats.
Head-to-head: These two nations have faced each other seven times over the years, with Germany remaining undefeated (four wins, three draws).
The Germans claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in October. Matthias Ginter and Leon Goretzka scored for Low’s side, while Ruslan Malinovskyi netted for Ukraine.
Team news: Jonas Hofamnn picked up an injury in the midweek friendly, so he is likely to miss out for Germany. Robin Gosens and Benjamin Henrichs are also doubts.
Star winger Yevhen Konoplyanka was left out of the Ukraine squad by Shevchenko, while Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to feature in midfield.
Germany have been drawing a lot of games recently, and Ukraine pushed Low’s men all the way in their previous meeting.
Forebet predicts that Germany and Ukraine will produce a high-scoring draw on Saturday, with both teams netting over 1.5 goals.