On Thursday, Ukraine will lock horns with Belgium in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League playoff clash in Murcia.
Ukraine, who are unable to play at home due to the war with Russia, clinched second place in Group B1 to seal their spot in the playoffs, while the Red Devils finished in third position in Group A2.
Match preview
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Ukraine have spent the last two campaigns in League B after being relegated from League A in the 2020-21 Nations League.
They are now two games away from returning to the top tier after collecting eight points from six matches to finish one point ahead of Georgia and Albania.
Ukraine recovered from consecutive defeats to finish the league phase with a four-game unbeaten run, including a 2-1 away win over Albania on matchday six thanks to goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk.
The Blue and Yellow are now set to face Belgium for just the second time after the two nations previously faced off in last year's European Championship.
They played out a goalless draw in the final round of group matches, with the result condemning Ukraine to an early exit due to their inferior goal difference after all four teams finished level on four points.
Incidentally, Ukraine have scored in each of their six matches since they faced Belgium at Euro 2024, although they have kept just one clean sheet in that period.
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Belgium are set to begin a new era under Rudi Garcia after they parted ways with Domenico Tedesco after underperforming at Euro 2024 and in the Nations League league phase.
Tedesco oversaw a last-16 exit at last year's European Championship, before Belgium avoided automatic relegation by the skin of their teeth after winning just one of their six league phase matches.
After beginning their Nations League campaign with a win against Israel, the Red Devils went on to lose home and away against France on either side of a 1-1 draw against Italy.
They finished the league phase with consecutive 1-0 defeats, leaving them in third place and just above fourth spot on head-to-head goal difference with Israel.
Belgium are now at risk of dropping down to League A for the very first time, although Garcia hopes to avoid that scenario in his first two matches since he was sacked as Napoli's boss in November 2023.
The Red Devils will be determined to make a fast start in Murcia, having conceded the first goal in each of their last five matches.
Team News
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Plymouth Argyle defender Maksym Talovierov has left Ukraine's training camp and returned to England after sustaining a knee injury.
Mykhaylo Mudryk has started each of Ukraine's last five matches, but the Chelsea winger is currently suspended from football after testing positive for the prohibited substance meldonium at the end of last year.
Forward Artem Dovbyk is likely to be given the nod over Yaremchuk after scoring five goals in his last eight Serie A matches for Roma.
As for Belgium, Thibaut Courtois is set to make his first international appearance since June 2023 after ending his exile from international football.
The Real Madrid shot-stopper had previously fallen out with Tedesco, but while he has now returned to the setup, there will be no Koen Casteels after the goalkeeper made himself unavailable for selection in protest of Courtois's recall.
Garcia has also added Ameen Al-Dakhil and Michy Batshuayi to his squad, with Arthur Theate and Malick Fofana set to miss out through injury.
Ukraine possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Kalyuzhnyi, Zinchenko, Sudakov; Tsygankov, Nazarenko; Dovbyk
Belgium possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Castagne, Faes, Debast, De Cuyper; De Bruyne, Tielemans, Vanaken; Doku, Trossard, Lukaku
We say: Ukraine 1-1 Belgium
Belgium will be looking to start Garcia's tenure with a win, but we think that they may have to settle for a draw in Murcia, especially as Ukraine have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent times after avoiding defeat in their final four matches of the league phase.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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