TWO ALLIES GO INTO BATTLE TODAY!
It’s Matchday 5 for UKRAINE in their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign as they travel to Vilnius to face LITHUANIA!
This game is a must win for the visitors as they aim to continue their strong start to the qualifying cycle and push further away from group rivals Serbia and Portugal, who play each other tonight!
Andriy Shevchenko has a full strength squad of players to choose from bar Maryan Shved who did not travel.
It is likely that we will see Andriy Yarmolenko return and make his first start for Zbirna in 11 months after the manager has confirmed he thinks the player is ready for a full 90 minutes!
However, it’s on the other wing where Shevchenko has a bit of a selection dilemma. Does he play Konoplyanka, who hasn’t played competitive football since June from the off, or does he call on Tsyhankov, who has not had the best of starts to the season himself?
It is likely that Sheva will choose the former, based on previous selections. Regardless of who does play, Ukraine should have more than enough to beat this Lithuania side with ease!
It will also be interesting to see who Sheva goes with up front in this one. Yaremchuk and Moraes have been on hot form since the season started. Yaremchuk broke his Ukraine goal duct in the last break with 2 in 2, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him favoured in this competitive fixture. Whoever doesn’t play today, is more or less guaranteed a start in Tuesday’s friendly
Elsewhere we are likely to see Stepanenko, Zinchenko and Malinovskyi start in centre midfield. The back four is expected to be composed of Dynamo’s Mykolenko & Karavayev at full back, with Shakhtar’s Kryvstov & Matvienko in the centre! Pyatov will start in goal to complete the line up, as Ukraine chases it’s third consecutive clean sheet!
The plastic pitch may catch the players off guard at the 5,067 capacity, LFF stadium. So it will be vital for the players not to get injured on an unpredictable surface.
Although small, the stadium will be full of Ukrainians who have made the journey up from down south and across the continent! The UK contingent will be its largest in years as three generations of fans brace themselves for a Ukraine victory!
УКРАЇНО ВПЕРЕД 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
ZORYA LONDONSK 