Ireland v Ukraine predictions: Visitors can put their World Cup exit behind them

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Ireland v Ukraine in the Nations League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

Premier Sports 2, 7.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Ukraine
1pt 23-10 Coral, Hills

Team news

Ireland
Stephen Kenny is likely to rotate after their trip to Armenia, Seamus Coleman is a major doubt after picking an injury in that match.

Ukraine
Oleksandr Petrakov will change things after their defeat to Wales with Artem Dobvyk, Eduard Sobol and Mykhaylo Mudryk likely to be beneficiaries.

Match preview

Ukraine will have to pick themselves up after the disappointment of losing out on World Cup qualification against Wales but they should be able to bounce back against Ireland.

Oleksandr Petrakov and his side would be well within their rights to feel aggrieved at the 1-0 loss to Wales, considering they should have had a first-half penalty and were denied largely due to a standout performance from goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

The visitors won the shot count 22-10 in Cardiff and amassed an expected goals tally above two.

They travel to Dublin to take on an Ireland side with their tails between their legs after losing 1-0 to Armenia on Saturday.

The conditions in Yerevan undoubtedly played a part in that defeat but it was still a poor showing.

Stephen Kenny’s men had preceded that performance with some good results, drawing with Portugal and Belgium.

However, their inability to find the net with regularity has been a persistent issue for this Ireland side. Only James McClean in this latest squad is in double figures for goals for his nation, and they may come up short once more against a solid Ukrainian backline.

That defence is likely to be marshalled by 19-year-old Ilya Zabarnyi, who will undoubtedly be on the radars of some big clubs.

Petrakov will rotate his side but that may give chances to exciting, up-and-coming members of the squad such as Artem Dobvyk and Mykhaylo Mudryk.

The technical quality in midfield of this Ukraine team meant that they outplayed Scotland comprehensively. They were unfortunate not to at least take their playoff to extra time, so they should have too much class for this Ireland side.

Key stat

Ukraine have won three of their last five competitive games.

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