A potentially pivotal clash in Euro 2024 Group E takes place on Friday afternoon, as Slovakia square of with Ukraine at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
The two teams come into this match having experienced somewhat contrasting fortunes on matchday one.
Slovakia claimed the biggest scalp of the competition so far after edging out Belgium 1-0 in Frankfurt on Monday.
That triumph has put the Falcons in a strong position to reach the knockout round for just the second time in their history.
Ukraine, on the other hand, kicked-off their Euro 2024 campaign with a bruising 3-0 defeat against Romania.
With a potentially make-or-break clash with Belgium still to come, the Blue and Yellow can ill-afford another setback against the Slovakians.
How the bookies view it: Ukraine to reign supreme
Despite their sobering 3-0 defeat at the hands of Romania on Monday, Ukraine are 5/4 favourites on Betfred to bounce back with a victory on Friday.
Slovakia find themselves back in underdog territory ahead of this tussle, with a Falcons win trading at 11/4 on Betfred.
An all square affair at the Merkur Spiel-Arena can be backed at 23/10 on Betfred.
Head to head: History book balanced
The two nations have gone toe-to-toe on eight occasions, each claiming three victories, while sharing THE spoils on the other two occasions.
Friday’s fixture will represent the first meeting between the pair since Slovakia dished out a 4-1 drubbing to Ukraine during a Nations League tie way back in 2018.
Last five H2H duels:
- 16/11/2018 (UEFA Nations League) – Slovakia 4-1 Ukraine
- 09/09/2018 (UEFA Nations League) – Ukraine 1-0 Slovakia
- 10/11/2017 (International Friendly) – Ukraine 2-1 Slovakia
- 08/09/2015 (EURO Qualifiers) – Slovakia 0-0 Ukraine
- 08/09/2014 (EURO Qualifiers) – Ukraine 0-1 Slovakia
Players to watch: Dovbyk out to deliver
Artem Dovbyk was starved of opportunities during Ukraine’s 3-0 defeat to Romania on Monday but he looks worth backing to make amends here at 7/4 on Betfred. The Girona striker has notched in four of his last eight outings for the national team.
Ondrej Duda committed three fouls during Slovakia's shock 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday so he could be worth considering to collect a card at 9/4 on Betfred.
Predicted line-ups
Following their heroics against Belgium last time out, Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona is expected to name an unchanged starting XI on Friday.
Everton left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko could come back into the Ukraine side after missing out against Romania due to injury. That change would most likely lead to captain Oleksandr Zinchenko moving back into the middle of the park.
Slovakia: Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Haraslin, Bozenik
Ukraine: Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Sudakov, Stepanenko, Mykolenko Zinchenko; Tsygankov, Mudryk, Dovbyk
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams to score has been priced up at 5/6 on Betfred and that looks worth getting on board with in Dusseldorf on Friday.
Ukraine have only failed to find the back of the net in 11 of their last 14 matches, while Slovakia have landed a blow against their opposition in 12 of their past 14 assignments.
Ukraine boss Sergiy Rebrov will have earmarked this fixture as one his side simply must take maximum points fROM and that should lead to an end-to-end affair.
With that in mind, coupled with both sides knack for getting on the scoresheet, back each to oblige in this high-stakes Group E encounter.
This Euro 2024 match between Slovakia and Ukraine will be played on Jun 21, 2024 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Slovakia vs Ukraine prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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