Armenia vs Ukraine prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2022-09-23 13:00.
Armenia find themselves in a precarious position ahead of their penultimate UEFA Nations League (UNL) Group B1 fixture against promotion hopefuls Ukraine on Saturday, knowing a far-fetched promotion is now completely off the cards. After June’s crushing 4-1 loss at home to Scotland, JoaquĂn CaparrĂłs’ side are bottom of the group after four fixtures, and odds-on for a first UNL relegation following successive promotions in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
The Mountaineers face a figurative uphill battle in their bid to boost their survival hopes against their heavily-fancied opponents this weekend, who won 3-0 in the return fixture in June. CaparrĂłs will, however, take confidence in the fact Armenia have netted the opening goal in each of their last six UNL games at home (W4, D1, L1), so there is always a chance the hosts might manufacture another bright start and unsettle their opponents.
Ukraine had seemingly put to bed their agonising World Cup play-off defeat to Wales by constructing a three-match unbeaten start to their second UNL campaign (W2, D1), placing them firmly in the driving seat for promotion. However, Wednesday night’s 3-0 loss away at nearest rivals Scotland, severely dented their promotion chances, with three goals in the final 20 minutes enough to see Scotland leapfrog them into first place with two games to play.
Defeat now leaves this contest carrying much more weight for Oleksandr Petrakov’s men, who are unbeaten in every H2H they’ve played against Armenia (W6, D3). Further fuelling confidence, the Blue and Yellows have lost just two of their six competitive fixtures in 2022 (W3, D1), and will back themselves to continue their impressive form since their return to competitive action in June and set up a grandstand finish against Scotland next Tuesday.
Players to watch: Armenia have been dry for competitive international goals in the past couple of years, but all of experienced winger Tigran Barseghyan’s last three strikes have come in the second half. Meanwhile, all of Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk’s last 15 goals for club and country have come in unbeaten causes.
Hot streak: Each of the last five H2Hs have seen three or more goals scored.