THE opening fixture in Group E at Euro 2024 will see Romania go up against Ukraine at the Allianz Arena on Monday afternoon.
With fixtures against Belgium and Slovakia to follow, both sides will be bidding to hit the ground running in Bavaria.
Having failed to qualify for the 2020 edition, Romania will return to the big stage this summer and target a place in the knockout round, something they have failed to achieve in each of their last two appearances at the Euros.
Edward Iordanescu’s men qualified for Germany with room to spare, fishing five points clear of Switzerland at the top of their section.
In contrast, Ukraine came through the playoffs to secure their place at Euro 2024, overcoming both Bosnia and Iceland in the process.
Having reached the quarter-final stage of Euro 2020 for the first time in their history, Sergiy Rebrov’s side appear lively outsiders to replicate those efforts this time around.
How the bookies view it: Romania rank outsiders
Romania, who have failed to win any of their last six European Championship matches, are big outsiders at 3/1 on Betfred while an all square affair at the Allianz Arena can be backed at 12/5 with the same firm.
Ukraine are even-money favourites on Betfred to bank three points from their opening match of Euro 2024 and they look worth siding with at those odds. The Blue and Yellow have a fair share of household names within their ranks, while Romania lack star-quality throughout their squad
Head to head: Ukraine hold the upper hand
The two nations have crossed paths three times since 2010, with Ukraine coming out on top on all three occasions.
However, it’s worth noting that the last meeting between the pair was all the way back in 2016, with Ukraine taking top honours from a thrilling friendly fixture that finished 4-3.
Last five H2H duels:
- 29/05/2016 (International Friendly) – Romania 3-4 Ukraine
- 08/02/2011 (International Tournament) – Romania 2-2 (2-3 A.P.) Ukraine
- 29/05/2010 (International Friendly) – Ukraine 3-2 Romania
- 20/08/2003 (International Friendly) – Ukraine 0-2 Romania
- 27/03/2002 (International Friendly) – Romania 4-1 Ukraine
Players to watch: Dovbyk to do damage
Artem Dovbyk fired me to a full house of winners in Ukraine's 4-0 friendly win over Moldova earlier this week and I’m backing him to do the business again here at 13/8 on Betfred. After scooping the Golden Boot award in La Liga this season, the Girona goal-getter has since netted in both of the Blue and Yellow’s Euro 2024 pre-tournament warm-up matches.
Nicolae Stanciu, who was the driving force behind Romania’s qualifying success, is 9/2 (Betfred) to make the net bulge in Munich.
Predicted line-ups
Olimpiu Morutan won’t be appearing at Euro 2024 due an ACL injury, while question marks remain over who will get the nod in the lone striker role for Romania.
Ukraine defender Vitalii Mykolenko has been ruled out due to an ankle injury, so utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko is likely to be shifted from midfield to left-back.
Romania: Nita; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Bancu; M. Marin, R. Marin; Man, Stanciu, Mihaila; Dragus
Ukraine: Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko; Shaparenko, Stepanenko, Sudakov; Tsygankov, Dovbyk, Mudryk
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the superior attacking talent they have at their disposal, backing Ukraine to score over 1.5 goals also looks worthy of interest at 6/5 on Betfred.
While Romania were a well-oiled machine during qualification, a clash with Ukraine will represent a step up in class.
Sergiy Rebrov’s side have struck at least twice in five of their last eight matches and another couple of goals should be within range against the Romanians.
This Euro 2024 match between Romania and Ukraine will be played on Jun 17, 2024 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Romania vs Ukraine prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
