Is Manchester United no longer in bad luck?

TPO - Football prediction for Ukraine vs Belgium, Group E EURO 2024, 23:00 on June 26th - information on squads, expected lineups, form, and head-to-head history. Group E is truly complicated as the chances are equal for all teams. However, with superior quality, Belgium is capable of defeating Ukraine to advance as group winners.

Match preview: Ukraine vs Belgium

For the first time in the 64-year history of the European Championship, four teams have earned 3 points after the first two rounds of the group stage. This was made possible by Belgium's unexpected defeat to Slovakia in the opening match, and Ukraine's sudden resurgence in the later stages of their game against Slovakia, ultimately winning 2-1.

Given the current situation, the task for each team is quite simple. If Belgium wins by a sufficient margin, they will advance to the knockout round as group winners. Ukraine is in a similar position, but their top spot depends on luck. In case of a draw, things become more complicated as goal difference, goals scored, and head-to-head records must be considered. However, with 4 points, they are fairly certain to advance as the best third-placed team.

Nevertheless, neither Belgium nor Ukraine will put themselves in a high-risk situation. Both will undoubtedly approach the match aiming for three points. Given that, Belgium is the more likely to succeed. From their two previous matches, Domenico Tedesco's team has shown they are very good at creating chances. Their only problem is the incredible wastefulness of their strikers, especially Romelu Lukaku. Against Ukraine's fragile defense, the Red Devils will probably do better.

Ukraine vs Belgium form and head-to-head history

This is the first time Ukraine and Belgium have faced each other. Therefore, when assessing the chances of both teams, it's necessary to consider their recent form. Ukraine has been quite inconsistent, losing to Poland in a friendly before EURO 2024, and then causing great disappointment with a defeat to Romania in their opening match.

If we consider only the EURO tournament, the victory against Slovakia was only the 4th time the Eastern European team has enjoyed a win in 13 matches played (losing the other 9). Furthermore, they failed to score in 8 of those 13 matches. As for Belgium, they have only lost 1 (and won 11) in their last 17 matches across all competitions (that defeat being against Slovakia). In the EURO, Belgium has won 8 out of their last 11 matches.

Other statistics also favor Belgium. The Red Devils have never lost their group stage final in the last six major tournaments (5 wins, 1 draw). They have also won 14 out of 18 group stage matches in recent major tournaments (1 draw, 3 losses), and have only been eliminated in the group stage once in the last six major tournaments.

Information on the Ukraine vs Belgium match

Ukraine could welcome back Vitaliy Mykolenko, while goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin is certain to be in goal after his excellent performance against Slovakia. Additionally, Yaremchuk and right-back Yukhym Konoplya need to avoid further yellow cards if they don't want to be suspended for the Round of 16 match (should Ukraine advance).

On the Belgian side, Axel Witsel and Thomas Meunier are uncertain to return from injury, while Dodi Lukebakio is suspended, opening up opportunities for Leandro Trossard or Johan Bakayoko.

Predicted lineups for Ukraine vs Belgium

Ukraine: Trubin; Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Sudakov, Zinchenko, Shaparenko; Yarmolenko, Dovbyk, Mudryk

Belgium: Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate; Tielemans, Onana; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard; Lukaku

Predicted score: Ukraine 1-2 Belgium

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-ukraine-vs-bi-23h00-ngay-266-quy-do-da-het-den-post1649418.tpo