UEFA Nations League: Ukraine and Scotland in Promotion Showdown

Ukraine vs Scotland

Three wins on the bounce have put Scotland in the enviable position of needing just a point when they visit Ukraine in Poland in the UEFA Nations League Group B1 decider.  

A 3-0 win for the Scots when the two teams met last week turned this group on its head but, make no mistake, Ukraine are more than capable of winning the group by winning this last game. At 27^th in the FIFA World Rankings the hosts are a full 18 places above the Scots, but Steve Clarke’s Tartan Army are on the charge.  

England’s relegation from the A League will have delighted fans north of the border and the UEFA Nations League 2022 betting odds give the Scots a better than even chance to win promotion. It all adds up to a fascinating climax to the group and a chance for two teams who have missed out on the Qatar World Cup to give they fans something to cheer about.

Talking Points

Yarmolenko set to lead Ukraine

A new injury setback for Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko means the Ukrainian captain is out of action for two weeks. The midfield ace has been suffering with a knee injury but a new calf strain has delayed his return and that means Andriy Yarmolenko will continue as captain.     

Head coach Oleksandr Petrakov rested some of his key players in a 5-0 destruction of Armenia on Saturday, with wide man Yarmolenko on the bench. Atalanta’s attacking midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi was also rested while 25 year old Artem Dovbyk climbed off the bench and scored twice to make it six goals from 13 internationals. He plays in the Ukrainian League for Dnipro-1 and made his international debut in 2021; and he scored Ukraine’s winning goal in the Round of 16 clash with Sweden at Euro 2020. 

Now playing at Al Ain in the UAE, the 32 year old Yarmolenko will hope to add to his 45 goals from 111 internationals and, alongside Dovbyk he’ll give the Scotland defence plenty to think about.   

Premier League fans can look out for Everton full back Vitaly Mykolenko who will also provide an attacking threat down the flank.   

One more step for the Scots

Scotland’s clash with the Republic of Ireland at the weekend was another huge game for the Scots and they came from behind to win in dramatic fashion to stay in control of their destiny. After John Egan had given Ireland a half time lead Scotland got the perfect start to the second half when Ryan Christie crossed for Jack Hendry to head home, and then Christie converted an 82^nd minute penalty to send the Hampden Park crowd wild.

Like Ukraine, the Scots have a stand-in captain due to an injury to Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson with John McGinn taking the armband, and he led the team to a win on his 50^th cap. McGinn’s club Aston Villa has made stuttering start to their Premier League campaign and he’s a key player for the Villains, just as he is for Scotland.

Scotland short of full backs

The last three UEFA Nations League 2022 results were just want Scotland wanted but head coach Steve Clarke has a bit of a headache in that his team could be short of full-backs for the clash with Ukraine, as both Aaron Hickey and Kieran Tierney both limped off against Ireland and the Scotland fans have a nervous wait to see if either or both might be fit.

With Robertson and Nathan Patterson already sidelined this is a problem for Scotland and Ukraine’s attacking wide men will be watching with interest.

History

While Scotland have rarely appeared at major finals in recent times, and have never got past the group stage, their hosts have reached the latter stages on two occasions. In 2006 Ukraine made the quarter finals of the World Cup and they reached the same stage at the 2020 European Championships 

In 2022 the Ukrainians have won four of their competitive matches, draw one and lost two, and they have faced Scotland twice this year, both times at Hampden Park. In June they won 3-1 in the World Cup play-off but the Scots exacted their revenge in September with a 3-0 victory as Lyndon Dykes scored twice while McGinn added a third.

That win for Scotland made it two wins each in the head to heads and so we have a decider in Poland on Tuesday.

Betting Tip

At SBOTOP odds of 2.41 the Ukrainians are favourites to win this game but there’s a good case to make for Scotland at 2.71 or the Draw at 3.06.

It’s a winner takes all game, though a draw will do for Scotland and I expect Ukraine will play most of the game on the front foot while the Scots will do all they can to make it difficult.

For a Correct Score-line a 1-1 draw is the most likely outcome at odds of 5.03, while a 1-0 win for Ukraine 1-0 is at 6.76.  

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.