Ukraine will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in Group 1 of League B when they continue their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign against the Czech Republic on Monday night.
The Blue and Yellows recorded a 1-0 victory over Georgia on Friday, while the Czech Republic will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 success over Albania, which has left them second in the section.
Match preview
© Imago
Ukraine opened their Group 1 of League B campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Albania, before going down 3-2 to the Czech Republic in their second fixture, with the national side losing two close games in September.
Serhiy Rebrov's side were able to return to winning ways against Georgia on Friday evening, though, with a first-half effort from Mykhaylo Mudryk seeing them record a 1-0 victory.
Ukraine remain bottom of the section, but they now have some momentum and are only three points behind the leaders Georgia, still with three matches left to play, so promotion is certainly a possibility.
The Blue and Yellows competed in the finals of Euro 2024, but they were unable to make it past the group stage of the competition, finishing bottom of Group E despite having the same number of points (four) as the section winners Romania.
Ukraine had been unbeaten in four matches with the Czech Republic before going down 3-2 to their opponents in September, and they will now be aiming to build on what was a strong performance against Georgia.
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Czech Republic suffered a 4-1 loss to Georgia in their section opener, but they managed to bounce back against Ukraine four days later, running out 3-2 winners to move onto three points from two matches.
Ivan Hasek's side then recorded a 2-0 victory over Albania on Friday evening, with Tomas Chory netting a brace to help secure a vital three points, which has left them second, level on six points with the leaders Georgia.
Czech Republic were also in action at Euro 2024, failing to make it out of the group stage of the tournament, finishing bottom of Group F, which also involved Portugal, Turkey and Georgia.
Hasek's team competed in Division A of the last Nations League, but they were relegated in fourth position, so promotion back to the top tier will certainly be on their minds for this campaign.
A successful 2024 has seen Czech Republic win six of their 10 matches thus far, and they will be aiming for another victory here ahead of their final two games in the section against Albania and Georgia next month.
Team News
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There are unlikely to be any surprises in the Ukraine XI for this match, with Artem Dovbyk once again expected to lead the line, with the 27-year-old bidding to add to the 10 goals that he has managed at international level.
Mudryk scored the winner against Georgia last time out, and the Chelsea attacker will continue in the XI, while Heorhiy Sudakov should feature in the number 10 spot for Rebrov's side.
Bournemouth's Illya Zabarnyi will be another starter for Ukraine, but Roman Yaremchuk might have to again accept starting on the bench in this Nations League fixture.
As for the Czech Republic, head coach Hasek has not reported any injury problems from the clash with Albania, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field for this clash.
Chory netted a brace against Albania, and he is certain to continue in the final third of the field, while Vaclav Cerny should again be among the supporting cast against Ukraine.
West Ham United duo Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek will also feature, but Patrik Schick, who has 20 goals in 42 caps for his country, is a notable absentee for the Czech Republic.
Ukraine possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Konoplia, Zabarnyi, Talovierov, Matviienko; Hutsuliak, Shaparenko, Kaliuzhnyi, Sudakov, Mudryk; Dovbyk
Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Kovar; Coufal, Vitik, Holes, Boril; Soucek, Cerv; Cerny, Sulc, Provo; Chory
We say: Ukraine 1-1 Czech Republic
This is a really tricky match to call, with both sides picking up impressive wins last time out. Czech Republic shaded their contest in September, but we are expecting a very close game on Monday, with the points potentially being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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