In this article…
Ukraine v Belgium
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Kick Off: Wednesday 26th June at 17:00
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Watch Live: BBC One
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Competition: Euro 2024
With all four teams in Group E still firmly in the mix for qualification, Ukraine’s tussle with Belgium at the Stuttgart Arena on Wednesday feels like an early Euro 2024 knockout fixture.
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Serhiy Rebrov’s Ukraine produced a rousing second-half comeback to beat Slovakia on Friday to reignite their hopes of making it through to the next stage of the tournament, though they will need to find another gear to beat Belgium.
Les Diables rouges shook off the disappointment of their matchday one defeat against the Slovakians to oust Romania on Saturday, and Belgium looked a class above in their 2-0 triumph. Can Domenico Tedesco’s outfit flex their muscles in a similar style against Ukraine?
Ukraine v Belgium Best Bets
Ukraine dug deep to overturn a first-half deficit to beat Slovakia last Friday, however, they were outgunned for shots (14-13) and matched for shots on target (5-5) against the Falcons, and they might find it trickier to fall on the right side of any fine margins against a Belgian outfit that packs more firepower.
Belgium played with a bit of a swagger in their win over Romania last time out and having worked out a couple of the tactical kinks we saw on matchday one, they should be difficult to stop in Stuttgart. The Belgians are generous in the extreme at 1.65 to win on Wednesday.
The Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku double act could take centre stage again and the latter could be worth backing to finally break his duck at Euro 2024 at an attractive price of 2.10. Lukaku has had three goals chalked off by VAR at the tournament so far, though his teammates are finding him consistently and he has hit more shots on target (five) than any other player in the competition so far.
Backing both teams to score also has plenty of appeal at 1.73. With Youri Tielemans deployed in midfield, Belgium’s goal-scoring potential is heightened, though their tactical shift had its drawbacks against Romania from a defensive perspective.
The Romanians had 14 shots and posted an xGF of 0.90 against the adventurous Belgians and Ukraine are likely to find a decent amount of space to exploit on the counter if the pattern of Wednesday’s game is similar.
📂 Ukraine v Belgium Cheat Sheet
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You can find Ukraine v Belgium match stats on my bet builder stats tool, along with official line-ups one hour before kick-off.
📊 Ukraine Form and Stats
Unsurprisingly, Ukraine Head Coach Serhiy Rebrov made a couple of adjustments to his team following their dismal 3-0 reverse to Romania on matchday one, and the decisions he made in key areas all paid dividends against Slovakia.
Anatoliy Trubin, who replaced Andrey Lunin between the sticks, made four saves against the Slovakians and was generally a sounder presence, while Oleksandr Tymchyk was steadier at right back than Yukhym Konoplia, who toiled against Romania.
Volodymyr Brazhko, who was winning just his sixth cap, made a better impression than Taras Stepanenko in midfield, and his foil in the middle, Mykola Shaparenko, flourished as a consequence.
With Brazhko, who made three tackles and two fouls, anchoring, Shaparenko had more license to push forward and the 25-year-old notched a goal and an assist against Slovakia.
Serhiy Rebrov praised his team’s battling qualities after their comeback win over the Slovakians and Ukraine did show plenty of spirit to net a second-half double salvo in Dusseldorf.
Ukraine saw less of the ball against Slovakia (44%) on matchday one than they did against Romania (71.3%) on Friday, however, they seemed much more comfortable playing on the counter against the Falcons and they improved their shots on target tally from two to five and their xGF from 0.70 to 1.50 between games.
With Belgium almost certain to dominate possession on Wednesday, Ukraine will hope to counter-punch their way to success again.
📊 Belgium Form and Stats
Captain fantastic Kevin De Bruyne hogged the spotlight in Belgium’s crucial 2-0 win over Romania on Saturday in a victory that acted as a much-needed salve for the burning disappointment of their loss to Slovakia.
Interestingly, Belgium posted a similar xGF against the Romanians (1.70) to the figure they posted on matchday one (1.60), though the more business-like Belgians showed a more ruthless edge in the final third this time around.
Of the 20 attempts they mustered against Romania, Belgium hit the target nine times, which is a marked improvement on the five accurate strikes they registered against Slovakia.
With deadlock-breaker Youri Tielemans drafted into midfield and Dodi Lukebakio preferred to Leandro Trossard on the flank, Belgium looked more balanced against Romania, though winger Lukebakio picked up a suspension-triggering yellow card in Saturday’s contest, and that could allow Trossard to reclaim his starting berth against Ukraine.
Head Coach Domenico Tedesco’s reworked XI made for better efficiency in attack, though that did have an impact defensively and Belgium conceded more shots (14), shots on target (five), and a greater xGA (0.90) against Romania than they did against Slovakia on matchday one.
With the more attack-minded Tielemans replacing the more workmanlike Orel Mangala in midfield, Amadou Onana had a bigger defensive workload to shoulder and he attempted twice as many tackles against Romania (four) as he did against Slovakia (two). That could be something to watch out for if Onana is paired with Tielemans again against Romania.
Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku worked well in tandem against the Romanians and racked up five shots and three shots on target each. De Bruyne picked out Lukaku with a number of piercing through balls at the Cologne Stadium and the same combination could pose problems for Ukraine.
⚔️ Ukraine v Belgium Head-to-Head
Incredibly, Wednesday’s encounter between Ukraine and Belgium on matchday three in Group E will be the nation’s first-ever meeting.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy Robson.
18+ please gamble responsibly.
