Ukraine vs Belgium prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League A/B – Relegation betting tips on match 2025-03-19 19:45.
[p]Against the backdrop of unrest in their own country, Ukraine have the chance to give their people something to cheer about in the UEFA Nations League (UNL). They face Belgium over a two-legged tie in the newly-revamped UNL to decide who will be playing in League A next cycle, but they face a significant disadvantage given their ‘home’ leg will be played in Murcia, Spain. [/p]
[p]Ukraine haven’t played any international football in Ukraine since November 2021, so it’s fair to say they should be used to playing on neutral territory by now. Since playing all those games at a neutral venue, Ukraine have lost just one of their 12 internationals as the designated ‘home’ team (W5, D6), and after finishing their UNL League B campaign with a flurry (W2, D2), they might be confident of toppling League A’s Belgium. [/p]
[p]The visitors have reasons of their own to feel confident, as they’ve never been relegated from League A since the UNL’s inception. Belgium must be fearful of making unwanted history in this tie though, having lost four of their last five UNL matches (D1) – a run which spelled the end of boss Domenico Tedesco’s reign – and they only avoided automatic relegation into League B courtesy of their superior H2H goal difference over Israel in Group A2. [/p]
[p]Belgium’s last international fixture eerily also came on neutral turf against another country battling unrest, with the Red Devils going down 1-0 to Israel in Budapest. A repeat result would inflict yet more unwanted history on Belgium in Rudi Garcia’s first game in charge, as not since 2009 have they gone more than five successive internationals without victory. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Mykhailo Mudryk was one of six Ukraine players to score once in the group stage, while all three of his international goals closed the scoring in victories. A goal here for Kevin De Bruyne (G30) would move him to outright third on Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer list – 25 of his 27 international scoring appearances ended in victory (D2).[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Five of Ukraine’s last six UNL games saw both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson [/i][/p]