Romania failed to win any of their four pre-tournament warm-up fixtures, despite facing three uninspiring opponents along the way in Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Liechtenstein.

The Romanians managed to score only once in those three matches combined and though they did net twice against Colombia in their fourth friendly, both efforts were late consolations in the dying embers of a 3-2 defeat.

Romania’s lack of cutting-edge in forward areas could hamper their chances against a Ukrainian side equipped with a heavier dusting of star quality.

Ukraine managed to avoid defeat in 13 of their last 16 international matches and two of the three defeats they suffered during that sequence came against England and Italy.

Serhiy Rebrov’s talented young outfit put four goals without reply past Moldova in their final pre-Euros friendly and having notched at least twice in five of their last eight games overall, Ukraine’s superior firepower could be too much for Romania to handle.

Artem Dovbyk is becoming a talismanic figure at centre forward for Ukraine and the target man is well-serviced by a creative supporting cast which includes Shakhtar’s Heorhiy Sudakov, his Girona teammate Viktor Tsyhankov and Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk.

26-year-old Dovbyk hit the target with five of his 11 efforts in six starts during Ukraine’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign and his accuracy in and around the penalty area should make him a menacing figure for the Romanian defence on Monday.

Dovbyk was La Liga’s leading scorer last season and the striker averaged 1.60 shots on target per 90 during a blistering year for highflying Girona in Spain.

The former Dnipro-1 hitman lodged at least one shot on target in eight of his final nine La Liga appearances of the 2023/24 campaign, so look for him to carry that form onto the international stage.

Rayo Vallecano’s Andre Ratiu is expected to slot in at right-back for Romania at Euro 2024, though the 25-year-old faces an uncomfortable first outing on Monday afternoon when marking rapid winger, Mykhailo Mudryk.

At club level, Chelsea fans aren’t yet fully sold on Mudryk following some wildly inconsistent performances from the wide midfielder, though the 23-year-old can, at least, be relied upon to draw fouls.

Mudryk was fouled at least once in 21 different Premier League appearances for the Blues last season, while the mega-money signing was also Ukraine’s joint-most fouled player (10) during their qualification campaign.

Mudryk’s rapid acceleration and line-breaking runs can draw desperate lunges from his markers, so expect fullback Andre Ratiu to be under pressure on Monday.

Romanian skipper Nicolae Stanciu will be keen to lead by example at Euro 2024 and the 31-year-old – who is the leading scorer in their current squad – is unlikely to pass up any opportunity to shoot against Ukraine.

Stanciu attempted more shots (29) than any of his teammates during Romania’s unbeaten qualification campaign and in four of his last six starts in Group I, the midfielder mustered at least three efforts.

The experienced campaigner, who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia with Damac, had at least two strikes at goal in eight of his last nine runouts in the group overall, and never shy about letting fly, Stanciu could finish Monday’s match near the top of the shot metrics again.

Ukraine like to play with bite and aggression when their opponents have the ball and Serhiy Rebrov’s energetic charges tend to give away plenty of free kicks as a consequence.

The Ukrainians averaged a lofty 13.6 fouls per game across their eight group matches and two playoff fixtures in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and their approach to chasing down possession is likely to be just as frenetic in Germany.

In those ten qualification fixtures, Ukraine committed fewer than 12 fouls on just three occasions and determined to put their best foot forward on matchday one against Romania, their foul tally could be high again.

Romania’s players meanwhile, were fouled at least 12 times in four of their final six qualifiers and they could have their ankles nibbled just as regularly in Munich on Monday.

Viktor Tsyhankov is best known for his defence-splitting passes, though the 26-year-old attacking midfielder is also a potent goal threat for Ukraine and his shooting is accurate enough to test Romanian keeper Horațiu Moldovan on Monday.

Tsyhankov, who is given licence to push forward whenever possible, hit at least one shot on target in six of Ukraine’s last nine Euro 2024 qualification assignments and he found his range again in the nation’s last friendly outing against Moldova on June 11th.

On the club football scene, Tsyhankov was a key member of the Girona side that surprised La Liga with an unexpected third-place finish and testing himself against some high-calibre defenders in Spain, Tsyhankov averaged a respectable 0.70 shots on target per game.

In a Ukrainian side with the ability to flourish at the business end of the pitch, Tsyhankov looks like a solid pick to have at least one attempt on target again.