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Ukraine and Switzerland kick off their Nations League campaign at Arena Lviv on Thursday evening.
The odds are highly stacked against both Ukraine and Switzerland, as they are a part of a group of four which consists of giants Germany and Spain. This means that the importance of this match is automatically magnified, since the loser will have a mountain to climb in order to qualify from the group.
The visitors, Switzerland, will have fond memories of the inaugural Nations League tournament. The Swiss shocked a strong Belgium side to make it all the way to the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Portugal. Managed by Vladimir Petković, the Swiss have already sealed their place in the coming Euro 2021 tournament, and their aim will be to avoid finishing bottom of their Nations League group.
Ukraine, too, will want to finish above their opponents in this game. Andriy Shevchenko's side finished top of their Euro qualifiers group, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. The Ukranians have been playing excellent football of late, and this should be a very close game by all means.
Ukraine vs Switzerland: Head-to-Head
These two nations have met only twice before, in the FIFA World Cup in 2006, and in a friendly in 2010. Both matches ended in a stalemate during regular time, although Ukraine did go on to beat Switzerland in the 2006 World Cup round of 16, 3-0 on penalties.
Both teams head into this fixture in very good form, and the home team in particular are unbeaten in 11 international games. That being said, form might not play that big of a part given the long, unanticipated break in regular international football due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ukraine form: D-W-W-W-D
Switzerland form: W-W-W-L-W
Ukraine vs Switzerland team news
Ukraine
Star forward Andriy Yarmolenko recovered from a tear in the abductor muscle to return to club football action with West Ham, despite failing to break into the first XI. That may be much easier to do with the national team, and he should continue to lead the attack. Ruslan Malinovskiy had a decent post-lockdown stint with Atalanta, and should start in the heart of midfield.
Switzerland
Vladimir Petković recently revealed that he wanted to call up star winger Xherdan Shaqiri, but was informed by the Liverpool man of an injury he had picked up. Many believe that it is actually a transfer away from Liverpool which has caused him to miss the squad, but the Swiss will be battling without their talisman, whatever the reason.
Captain Granit Xhaka will lead the team from midfield. Fullbacks Kevin Mbabu and Ricardo Rodriguez have been in good form recently, and will be hoping to carry that momentum forward against Ukraine. Haris Seferovic and Breel Embolo should continue to start up-front.
Ukraine vs Switzerland predicted XI
Ukraine predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Andriy Pyatov; Oleksandr Karavayev; Serhiy Kryvtsov; Mykola Matviyenko; Eduard Sobol; Viktor Tsyhankov; Oleksandr Zinchenko; Ruslan Malinovskiy; Roman Yaremchuk; Andriy Yarmolenko.
Switzerland predicted XI (3-4-3): Yann Sommer; Nico Elvedi; Manuel Akanji; Ricardo Rodríguez; Kevin Mbabu; Granit Xhaka; Djibril Sow; Loris Benito; Breel Embolo; Ruben Vargas; Haris Seferovic.
Ukraine vs Switzerland prediction
Given the form both teams have been in prior to this match, it is difficult to pick a winner with certainty. Both Ukraine and Switzerland play an expressive brand of football, and it is unlikely that either team will play too defensively in their very first match after the lockdown.
Given the quality of the forwards on display, one can expect at least a goal each from either team. At home, though, Ukraine have proven really difficult to beat. Even Portugal couldn't get as much as a draw when they travelled to Ukraine. Hence, a home win is a safe prediction to make. Having said that, it remains to be seen if either team will play at their usual level after such a long gap between this match and the last time they stepped foot on a pitch to represent their nation.
Prediction: Ukraine 2-1 Switzerland.
