France travel to NSK Olimpiyskiy seeking to maintain their unbeaten run in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers when the lock horns with Ukraine in a tricky matchday five this Saturday with kickoff at 21:45.
Both Ukraine France are unbeaten in Group D of the World Cup qualifiers with France winning two and drawing two to put them on top of the group with eight points while Ukraine’s 2-2 draw against Kazakhstan saw them record their fourth draw in the group putting them in the second position with four points which is worrying for the Ukrainians as the pack behind them have played fewer games than Ukraine have.
Thus, Oleksandr Petrakov’s side need to turn their draws to wins as they are expected to finish second behind France in the group. Oleksandr who took charge of Ukraine since Andriy Shevxhenko’s departure after the Euro 2020 will need to work on his defense as they are often unable to hold on to leads evidenced in their last game against Kazakhstan where Zbrina took the lead twice but were pegged back in both occasions.
The second-place finish would be enough to see Ukraine keep their hopes of 2022 qualification alive as they seek for a World Cup appearance for the first time since they appeared in the quarter finals in 2006.
Meanwhile, France despite being full of talents in all departments have failed to impress so far and could be in for a tricky clash against a formidable Ukraine. The French also are coming off a draw, their second draw in the group, where they were held to 1-1 draw by Bosnia & Herzegovina last Thursday.
The reigning world champions seem to be still struggling to get past the ghost of Euro 2020 performance where despite being among the favorites France only managed to reach the Round of 16 with only one win in competition and were knockout by Switzerland in a penalty shootout after the tie ended 3-3 in normal and extra time.
Their 1-1 draw against Bosnia marked their fourth game without a win across all competitions in a row with a goal difference of 0 as they have scored seven times and conceded seven times. However, not since 2013 have the Les Bleus strung together a five-match winless run where they failed to score a single goal.
Ukraine vs France head to head
Both sides have met in 11 encounters since 1999 with France claiming six victories while Ukraine have only managed one win and there have been four draws.
- France 1-1 Ukraine 24/03/21
- France 7-1 Ukraine 07/10/20
- France 3-0 Ukraine 19/11/13
- Ukraine 2-0 France 15/11/13
- Ukraine 0-2 France 15/06/12
Home
- Kazakhstan 2-2 Ukraine
- Ukraine 0-4 England
- Sweden 1-2 Ukraine
- Ukraine 0-1 Austria
- Ukraine 2-1 North Macedonia
Away
- France 1-1 Bosnia &Herzegovina
- France 4-5 Switzerland (AP)
- Portugal 2-2 France
- Hungary 1-1 France
- France 1-0 Germany
Ukraine team news
Ukraine will miss the services of Oleksandr Zinchenko due to accumulation of bookings while goalkeepers Andriy Lunin, Heorhiy Bushchan and Anatoliy Trubin have all been forced to pull out for various reasons.
France team news
France will be without Jules Kounde who is suspended following his red card in the last game while Benjamin Pavard is nursing an injury.
Prediction and odds
- France win
- Draw
- Goals under 2.5
