Ukraine and North Macedonia will face off on Thursday evening for three critical points in their second Euro 2020 Group C match. with Andriy Shevchenko’s team losing a thrilling 3-2 match against the Netherlands and the Red Lynxes falling 3-1 to Austria both teams lost their first games. Here is what you need to know about Ukraine vs North Macedonia prediction and lineup.
Team news
Ukraine lineup: Bushchan; Karavayev, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko; Malinovskyi, Sydorchuk, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk, Tsygankov
On Sunday Oleksandr Zubkov was substituted in 13 minutes of Ukraine’s 3-2 loss against the Netherlands and is unlikely to play here.
We could see Oleksandr Zinchenko forced into the front three as a result of Zubkov’s projected absence.
North Macedonia lineup: Dimitrievski; S.Ristevski, Velkovski, Musliu; Nikolov, Bardhi, Ademi, Elmas, Alioski; Pandev, Trajkovski
In their first match, North Macedonia lost 3-1 to Austria and will undoubtedly make changes, but it’s worth noting that that was likely their best XI.
Prediction
To tie the game at 2-2, Ukraine came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Netherlands, only to concede the winner with five minutes remaining. After working so hard to get back into the game, defeat would have been a huge disappointment.
On Sunday, North Macedonia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Austria. The next two matches look dismal between Ukraine and the Netherlands.
While North Macedonia has only conceded a goal in one of their past 16 matches, Ukraine has only conceded a goal in two of their past 22 international matches in all competitions.
If they are to advance to the knockout round, goals are expected in Thursday’s match, which is a must-win game for both teams.
Despite the Red Lynxes’ best efforts, we believe Shevchenko’s team has the extra quality in the final third to secure all three points in Bucharest.
Ukraine 3-1 North Macedonia
