Poland will host Ukraine at the national stadium in Warsaw on Friday night as both teams step up their final preparations for Euro 2024.
Both nations came through nail-biting playoffs to reach the European Championships and will be keen to ensure their hard work was worth it so this warm-up match certainly has significance.
Ukraine performed well earlier this week, holding Germany to a goalless draw in Nuremberg while this match is Poland's first outing since their dramatic penalty shootout victory over Wales.
How the bookies view it: Nothing to split them
To say the bookies are on the fence with this one would be an understatement and it's hard to blame them given how closely matched the two sides are. Poland are the very slight favourites with Bet365 at 8/5 with Poland priced at 17/10.
If you believe Poland and Ukraine are too close to separate, then the draw can be had at 9/4.
Recent head-to-head: An even split
What makes this match even more difficult to call is the recent head-to-head record. Over the past 15 years, the two sides have met five times. One match ended all square, two were won by Ukraine and two were won by Poland.
Perhaps crucially, though, is the fact that both of those Poland victories came in the two most recent matches between the two nations.
Players to watch: Lewandowski to provide the star quality?
For the past ten years, there has been one man at the centre of everything Poland do on a football pitch and that is Robert Lewandowski. The 35-year-old goal machine has been consistently one of the best strikers in world football for a decade and he will once again be the best player on the pitch on Friday night.
The key for Poland will be supplying the big man with chances. Lewandowski finished the 2023/24 season with 19 league goals, an impressive figure for someone in his 36th year.
Interestingly, the man who snatched the La Liga Golden Boot away from Lewandowski will line up for Ukraine on Friday. Artem Dovbyk had the best season of his career for Girona and he will not only be one to watch on Friday but also during Euro 2024 ahead of a potential Premier League transfer.
Predicted lineups
Given this is Poland's first match since their play-off win over Wales, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see them line up with the same XI that started that game, given all eleven players in the squad.
For Ukraine, the situation is a little different in that this is their second Euro 2024 warm-up match so rotation is expected. The aforementioned Dovbyk will certainly come in at the top end of the pitch while starts could also be given to the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Georgiy Sudakov.
Poland: Szczesny – Frankowski, Kiwior, Walukiewicz, Dawidowicz, Zalewski – Szymanski, Zielinski, Slisz – Swiderski, Lewandowski
Ukraine: Trubin – Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Svatok – Zinchenko, Sydorchuk, Tsygankov – Mudryk, Yarmolenko, Dovbyk
Anything else catch the eye?
Poland have proven countless times over the past few years that they are a formidable side on home turf. Not only are they unbeaten since September 2022 in matches played in Poland but they have scored 14 goals in their last eight home matches. Poland to score over 1.5 goals is priced at 13/8.
This International Friendly match between Poland and Ukraine will be played on Jun 7, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Poland vs Ukraine prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
