Both Finland and Ukraine will be looking to return to winning ways when they battle for the second position of Group D of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Saturday with kickoff at 19:00.
Finland have had a slow World Cup qualifying campaign as they have collected five points from their four outings so far, having won one, drawn two and lost one to leave them in the third position level on points with their Saturday opponents who have a higher goal difference. However, Finland have played fewer games than Ukraine and a win will see them take a significant step towards claiming second position in the group standings.
Finland enter the match in an inconsistent form having won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six matches across all competitions and they seem to have problems at both ends of the pitch having only kept two clean sheets in the run while scoring just two goals.
Meanwhile Ukraine have made an extraordinary run in their World Cup qualifying campaign as they have recorded five scoring draws in a row this term with four of them ending 1-1. They are yet to taste a win or a defeat in Group D and are currently in the second spot and will need a win in this match to cement their playoffs spot.
Ukraine head into the match in a below average form having recorded just one win in their last six matches across all competitions while recording three draws and two defeats in that run. Ukraine are also in a poor away form as they have not won any of their last 10 away matches but they cant afford a poor result in this match.
Finland vs Ukraine head to head
Both sides have met in three occasions since 2016 with Ukraine claiming two wins whereas Finland are yet to register a win and one match ended in a draw. Take a look at their previous encounter;
- Ukraine 1-1 Finland 28/03/21
- Finland 1-2 Ukraine 11/06/17
- Ukraine 1-0 Finland 12/11/16
Home
- France 2-0 Finland
- Finland 1-0 Kazakhstan
- Finland 0-0 Wales
- Finland 0-2 Belgium
- Finland 0-1 Russia
Away
- Czech Republic 1-1 Ukraine
- Ukraine 1-1 France
- Kazakhstan 2-2 Ukraine
- Ukraine 0-4 England
- Sweden 1-2 Ukraine
Finland team news
Finland have named a 24-man squad for the upcoming matches and Daniel O’shaughnessy and Jere Uronen having been ruled out with injuries while captain Tim Sparv is doubtful of featuring due to fitness issues.
Ukraine team news
Ukraine have also named a 24-man squad and regular starters Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ruslan Malinovskyi are the two notable absentees due to injuries.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Goals under 2.5
- Both sides to scor
