Ukraine vs Albania prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2024-09-06 18:45.
[p]After a group-stage exit at UEFA Euro 2024, Ukraine begin another UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaign unable to play in their own country due to the ongoing war. Prague is the destination for their meeting with Albania, and confidence should be high, as they’re an opponent that the Blue and Yellow have never lost against in six H2Hs (W5, D1).[/p]
[p]This will be Ukraine’s third UNL cycle in League B, and their record at this level is impressive (W6, D2, L2), with five of those six victories accompanied by a clean sheet. Serhiy Rebrov’s men will also look to build on their strong form in this competition as the designated home side (W5, D2, L1), with that sole defeat coming against three-time European champions Germany. [/p]
[p]Albania contested a major tournament for just the second time over the summer, and despite being placed in a ‘group of death’ with Croatia, Italy and eventual champions Spain, they earned plenty of plaudits for their performances. While Sylvinho’s men exited without a win to their name (D1, L2), a pair of one-goal defeats to the latter two sides underlined the good work that has been done under the Brazilian’s stewardship.[/p]
[p]He’ll look to continue that as they head into a second UNL campaign in League B, with improvement required after they also failed to win any of their four matches in the previous cycle (D2, L2). The odds are stacked against Albania here though, as not only have they failed to ever beat Ukraine, they’ve managed just one away victory in seven attempts in the UNL, and that came against Belarus four years ago (D3, L3)![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ukraine midfielder Mykola Shaparenko had a hand in both of his nation’s goals at the Euros, and has taken his good form into the early part of this season for Dynamo Kyiv, directly contributing to four goals in eight appearances (G2, A2). One of those assists came against Rangers, who’ve just signed Albania’s Nedim Bajrami. He made quite an impact at the Euros himself, scoring the fastest goal in the tournament’s history after 23 seconds against Italy – that was the only time he’s netted for Albania in a game that they’ve gone on to lose (W3, D1).[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Ukraine have failed to score before half-time in each of their last six competitive matches (W3, D2, L1). [/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]