Sweden and Ukraine overcame massive obstacles to make it this far, and now they’re set to clash with each other on Tuesday, June 29, at Hampden Park. These two sides last met way back in 2012, when Ukraine won 2-1 in their opening EURO 2012 group stage match.
Sweden vs Ukraine
When: Tuesday, June 29 – 20:00 GMT
Where: Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland
Weather: Partly cloudy, 23°C
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Ukraine need to count themselves lucky for getting to the knockout stage of EURO 2020. They finished in third place in Group C with three points from three games. They got to Round of 16 by booking the last available slot in the list of best third-placed teams in the tournament.
They must also feel happy for not needing to face one of the main tournament favourites. Had they finished second in their group, they’d have to play against Italy. This way, they get to play a seemingly easier opponent.
Although Sweden aren’t thought of as the main title candidates, this team has shown that they possess immense quality. The Blue and Yellow are still without a loss at EURO 2020, with wins against Poland and Slovakia, as well as a well-deserved draw with Spain.
Sweden Hoping to Continue Their Unbeaten Run
Sweden are without a single defeat in 2021. In fact, most of the games they’ve played this year ended in their favour. They won two World Cup qualifiers, as well as three friendlies before the start of EURO 2020.
The first game of the year that they didn’t win was against Spain, which ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Right after that game, the Swedes returned to their winning ways with two straight wins against Slovakia (1-0) and Poland (3-2).
Obviously, results show that Sweden are on the right track, which is why you shouldn’t expect their manager to make any changes for the game with Ukraine. Sweden will probably opt for 4-4-2 formation once again.
We should see maybe one or two changes in the starting XI, with Dejan Kulusevski expected to play for all 90 minutes. Pretty much the same goes for Mattias Svanberg, who’s been great so far in this tournament.
Despite Being Unimpressive, Ukraine Do Have an Excellent Squad
Horrible – that’s the best word to describe how Ukraine played against Austria in the final game of the group stage, where the Das Team had almost four times the goal attempts than them. Ukraine also struggled to impress in the game against North Macedonia, although they did get a win.
Ukraine‘s best performance came against the Netherlands when they came back from 0-2 behind and almost secured themselves a point. In that match, they showed the world that they got what it takes to play big tournaments and that they shouldn’t be underestimated ahead of tonight’s clash with Sweden.
Most of their players are fit and ready for this game, with the exception of Viktor Tsyhankov and Oleksandr Zubkov. The two are reportedly struggling with fitness, but even if they were fit, they’d probably start the game from the bench.
Sweden vs Ukraine Betting Picks
Anything can happen in a game like this. Sweden might have more star players in their squad than, but the difference in player quality isn’t too drastic.
What’s more, Ukraine tends to deliver then they’re the underdogs, which has earned them some impressive wins of late. At this price, Ukraine are a bit underrated.
Pick: Ukraine +0.00 Asian Handicap (same as Draw no Bet option) – 2.30 at Betfair and SBOBET
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