England prepares for battle away from Wembley as they face Ukraine in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday. With England’s second consecutive semi-final appearance at a major event on the line, here’s our football prediction – Ukraine vs England.
The Three Lions defeated their old adversary Germany 2-0 to go to the last eight of Euro 2020.
Meanwhile, surprise package Ukraine beat Sweden in extra time last time, defying our football prediction to reach their first quarter-finals.
Team news
Ukraine
- Artem Besedin will be out for six months after he sustained a knee injury in Ukraine’s extra-time victory over Sweden.
- After he limped off against Sweden on Tuesday night, Ukraine will sorely hope to have Andriy Yarmolenko available here.
- If Yarmolenko is absent, however, Artem Dovbyk will step in, after scoring the game-winning goal off the bench in midweek.
- Ukraine moved to a back three against Sweden and they will very certainly do so again today.
- Ruslan Malinovskiy returned to the bench against Sweden. So, he may have to make do with a role as an impact player here as well.
Ukraine possible starting lineup: Bushchan; Zabarnyi, Kryvtsov, Matvienko; Karavaev, Sydorchuk, Shaparenko, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk
England
- Gareth Southgate used a back three for the first time this season against Germany in a 2-0 triumph. But he may opt for a back four again, here, against Ukraine.
- Jack Grealish impressed as a substitute in England’s 2-0 win against Germany on Tuesday. However, he has no chance of starting if the back three remains in place.
- Southgate may also have to make changes after Kieran Trippier and Declan Rice suffered injuries late in the Germany game.
- This is especially true for Rice, because he will miss the semi-final if he is booked against Ukraine.
- After a period of self-isolation, Southgate decided against deploying Mason Mount. However, the latter should return against Ukraine, and he will most likely be a replacement for Bukayo Saka.
- Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips are both on the verge of a suspension. And Tyrone Mings and Jordan Henderson are on standby in case these two are out.
England possible starting lineup: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Trippier, Rice, Henderson, Shaw; Mount, Kane, Sterling
Football Prediction – Ukraine vs England
- On Tuesday night, England defeated Germany 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, while Ukraine elimination Sweden after extra time.
- This will be England’s first game away from Wembley in Euro 2020. And it will be intriguing to see how they handle traveling for an away match for the first time.
- Ukraine was already a heavy underdog going into Saturday’s match, and extra minutes against Sweden wouldn’t have done them good.
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides since a 0-0 draw in 2013. And under 2.5 goals have been scored in each of the last four games.
We have surely learned our lesson after backing Germany to knock England out of the Euros in the last-16 round.
With Ukraine poised to use a system similar to Die Mannschaft’s, England’s three-at-the-back setup should be effective once more.
While Shevchenko’s team deserves credit for making the last eight, it’s fair to say they reaching slightly above their level.
So, we’re expecting England to do the job this time around ahead of another Wembley appearance in the semi-finals.
