Preview: Czech Republic vs Ukraine – Prediction, team news, lineups

The Fortuna Arena in Prague is the scene of an early UEFA Nations League Cellar battle on Tuesday evening, when the Czech Republic measure their minds against Ukraine in League B Group 1.

Ivan HasekThe team lost 1-4 to Georgia in their opening match and the visitors could not hold on to their one-goal lead against Albania and lost 1-2.

Game Preview

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A holiday in Tbilisi is probably not on the wish list of Czech fans or players, as Tuesday's hosts were already four goals behind after 66 minutes on Saturday. The reason was goals from Chvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georges Mikoutadze, Giorgi Chakvetadze And George Kochorashvili.

Lukas Kalvach Ten minutes before the end, Georgia managed to turn the tables, but Hasek's team was not able to stage a spectacular comeback, as the losing streak continued three months after being eliminated in the group stage of the European Championship.

The Czech Republic were relegated from the top tier of the Nations League last season and will be heading to the third tier at the end of the year with no chance of promotion. The team sits fourth in its League B group with a goal difference of -3 after one game.

Having taken over in January and winning all four of his first four games in charge of the Czech Republic, Hasek has now endured a dismal four-game winless streak and is still waiting for his first competitive triumph as head coach; all four of his early victories came in friendlies.

However, neutral spectators can always look forward to an entertaining affair when the Czechs are involved. Tuesday's hosts have both scored and conceded goals in all eight games under Hasek's wing and are on a goalless streak in 11 consecutive games since the 2023 0-0 draw with Albania.

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Albania unfortunately could not keep a clean sheet against Ukraine on Saturday, where right-back Yuchym Konoplya scored the first goal just four minutes into the second half, but the Albanians needed only five minutes to hit back.

In fact, Ardian Ismaili made up for Ukraine’s lead within moments, Jasir Asani For the “visitors” a lightning-fast turnaround took place – the competition took place in the Letna Stadium in Prague, while war was still raging in the Ukrainians’ homeland.

Sergiy Rebrov's men therefore have just a short trip ahead of them to their next Nations League campaign, where they will face a nation that has endured a similarly harrowing summer; Ukraine were also eliminated in the Euro group stage despite being tipped by many as underdogs.

The Blue-Yellows' current third-place position would force them to fight for their League B status in the relegation playoffs, but Rebrov's men have plenty of time to turn things around and fight for promotion to the top flight, where they briefly competed during the 2020–21 edition.

Ukraine happened to be promoted to League A thanks to two victories over the Czech Republic in the inaugural Nations League in 2018-19, but the spoils were shared when they last met in a 2021 friendly, where Matej Vydra scored the equalizer for Tuesday’s hosts in the 90th minute.

Form of the Czech Republic in the Nations League:

Czech Republic Form (all competitions):

Ukraine Nations League form:

Ukraine Form (All Competitions):

Team News

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To make matters worse, an injury occurred when the left full-back Matej Rynes lasted only 26 minutes before succumbing to an apparent back injury and Yaroslav Zeleny.

Whether Rynes can make a miraculous recovery by Tuesday remains to be seen, but his Sparta Prague teammate Zeleny will surely be a direct swap at left back, and the changes shouldn't end there.

In fact, goalscorer Kalvach replaced Alex Kral at halftime on Saturday and may have earned a start, while Adam Hlozek can either compete or collaborate with others Patrick Schick in the last third.

As for Ukraine, Rebrov did not lose any players due to physical problems in the defeat to Albania, but he was without two key attacking players due to injuries before the start of the competition. Artem Dovbyk And Mykhailo Mudryk both withdrew from the squad.

His Premier League colleague Oleksandr Zinchenko was only briefly substituted at the weekend, but the Arsenal player should be back in his usual midfield role with the national team, as Vitaly Mykolenko continue on the left side.

captain Andriy Yarmolenko should, however, be limited to another cameo role as a substitute as the former West Ham United winger chases Andriy Shevchenko top of the goalscoring charts; he needs two more to equal the legendary striker's 48 goals.

Possible starting eleven for the Czech Republic:
Kovar; Zima, Krejci, Vitik; Coufal, Soucek, Kalvach, Zeleny; Provod, Schick, Hlozek

Possible starting eleven for Ukraine:
Trubin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Sudakov, Zinchenko, Shaparenko; Tsygankov, Yaremchuk, Kabaev

We think: Czech Republic 1-2 Ukraine

Goals on both sides of the pitch were always a guarantee in the Czechs' games in 2024, but the way they capitulated defensively in Georgia was alarming.

Even without two key attacking players like Dovbyk and Mudryk, Ukraine have the attacking instincts to expose the hosts' defensive weaknesses. Our vote is that they will be able to repeat their winning game at the second attempt, even if they fail to concede a goal here too.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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