Kick-off: 1700, 26/03/2023
Stadium: Wembley
TV: Channel 4
England got their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign off to a flying start by winning in Italy and should see off Ukraine at Wembley.
These teams last met in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, when the Three Lions romped to a 4-0 victory in Rome on route to reaching the final.
We’re taking 17/20 for Gareth Southgate’s side to win to nil again for our first England vs Ukraine prediction.
Three Lions buoyed by Naples victory
England’s first away win in Italy since 1961 proved a memorable occasion, with Harry Kane becoming the country’s record goalscorer.
He struck his 54th international goal from the penalty spot after Declan Rice had put the Three Lions ahead in Naples.
Mateo Retegui’s goal and a late Luke Shaw red card made England sweat, but Southgate managed to oversee his 50th triumph.
Southgate said: “We had great control from the back in the first half and whenever we broke through that first line of pressure, we looked really dangerous.
“Frankly, we should have had the game buried. It should have been 3-0 at half-time.
“If you start any half of football the way we started the second, you’re going to be in trouble and we concede a really poor goal.
“Then the emotion of the whole evening changes. You are giving the crowd a lift, you are giving the opposition a lift. You have got to deal with momentum.
“We then have to deal with going down to 10 but I think we found a way we could be as compact as we could, with extra energy to deal with that.
“So, in the end they have had to grind and dig in away from home, which is hugely important – and given our record here, is a massive result.”
England have plenty of strength in depth to cope with any bumps and bruises and Phil Foden could be handed a start here.
He replaced Manchester City teammate Jack Grealish on 69 minutes in Naples but was then sacrificed to bring on defender Kieran Trippier after Shaw’s dismissal.
Looking at the 2/1 for Foden to score in a home win.
Visitors are solid, but not spectacular
Ukraine did well to edge out Sweden in extra-time at Euro 2020 but then had their limitations ruthlessly exposed by England.
They narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup, showing tremendous spirit in the face of adversity.
After finishing second to France in their pool, Ukraine beat Scotland 3-1 away in the play-offs but then went down 1-0 to Wales.
A solid Nations League campaign saw them split Scotland and Republic of Ireland, but with just two goals scored in four games against those teams.
Ruslan Rotan is currently in charge on a caretaker basis and Ukraine warmed up for this test with a 2-0 win over a youthful Brentford B outfit.
There are some familiar faces on the playing side, including Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and big-money Chelsea buy Mykhailo Mudryk.
Former West Ham star Andriy Yarmolenko is the captain and Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko is another Premier League player.
We just fear Ukraine are solid rather than spectacular and lack quality up front, unless Mudryk sparkles.
Let’s add 13/2 for a 3-0 home win to our England vs Ukraine betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
Italy 1-2 ENGLAND – Declan Rice, Harry Kane (pen)
UKRAINE 0-0 Scotland
Head-to-head: Ukraine 0-4 England, Ukraine 0-0 England, England 1-1 Ukraine, England 1-0 Ukraine
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