Kick-off: 1945, 14/06/2022
Stadium: Stadion Miejski LKS
TV: Premier Sports
Ireland laid to rest their Nations League hoodoo in emphatic fashion when beating Scotland and can build on that by avoiding defeat versus Ukraine.
The men in green were edged out 1-0 by the same opponents in Dublin last week but there was nothing between the sides in general play that day.
With this game being played on neutral territory in Poland, 1.93 for Stephen Kenny’s team not to lose is our initial Ukraine vs Ireland prediction.
Ukraine Odds
Ukraine put their World Cup play-off heartbreak behind them with that victory and then secured a 3-0 success versus Armenia in Lodz.
The blue and yellows dominated that latest match, enjoying 70 per cent possession, and finally forged ahead when Ruslan Malinovskyi drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area with an hour gone.
Oleksandr Karavayev and Vitaliy Mykolenko added further strikes, although both came on the back of some sloppy defensive play.
Ireland can usually be relied upon to be far more dependable at the back and have only conceded one first-half goal in their last nine matches.
Looking at the Ukraine vs Ireland odds, we like 2.5 for this to be 0-0 at the break.
Republic of Ireland Odds
Kenny found himself fielding questions over his future after disappointing performances and 1-0 defeats against Armenia and Ukraine in Group B1.
At that point, Ireland had not won a competitive game at the Aviva Stadium since June 2019, when they beat minnows Gibraltar in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
However, the men in green broke their Nations League duck in a decisive manner by brushing aside Scotland 3-0 on home turf.
Alan Browne bundled in a set-piece before the excellent Michael Obafemi teed up Troy Parrott to head in a second on 28 minutes.
Shane Duffy almost nodded in another corner and Obafemi capped off a cracking first start for Ireland with a spectacular long-range strike.
Scott Hogan’s late effort was cleared off the line but it was an excellent performance by the Irish.
Kenny was quick to deflect any personal relief and simply stated: “I know what I’m doing, I’m very clear on what I’m doing.
“It’s been a really radical shift in the number of players we’ve brought through and it’s very exciting – clearly the public really identify with it and it’s really, really exciting.”
Being without the suspended Duffy and injured duo Seamus Coleman and John Egan here is a blow, but it will still be frustrating if that morale-boosting triumph doesn’t lead to a sustained run of improved results.
Let’s add 4.75 for the scores to be level at half-time and full-time to our Ukraine vs Ireland betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
UKRAINE 3-0 Armenia – Malinovskyi, Karavayev, Mykolenko
IRELAND 3-0 Scotland – Browne, Parrott, Obafemi
Head-to-head: Ireland 0-1 Ukraine
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