Germany vs Ukraine
The world champions Germany start their Euro2016 campaign on Sunday night with a clash against Ukraine in Lille and they do so knowing that in a tricky little group there is no room for slip ups if they are to power through the group.
Ukraine arrive in France as my dark horses and many others too and with little to lose they will be aiming to really serve it up to Germany and cause the first major upset of the tournament so far.
You couldn’t say Germany have been massively convincing since they won the World Cup but they’ve been written off in the past only to deliver the goods at a major tournament and that tournament experience could be vital as they chase this title for the first time in 20 years.
Some of the squad which won the World Cup have moved on such as Miroslav Klose and Philipp Lahm but there are some seriously talented footballers in this squad and some young talent at that. I’ll be interested to see how they begin the tournament here.
Key Man
Thomas Muller gets the attention for the goals he scores but I’m a big fan of Toni Kroos in this side. I think he is the one that makes them tick. He has so much time when he is in possession and he is a real cool customer. He has an eye for a goal too. A player I love watching.
You have to say Ukraine are going into this tournament with some pretty decent form behind them. They have lost just once in the last 12 months and that was to Spain which is no disgrace. Recently in a friendly they warmed up for this tournament with a win over Romania and they did that form no harm on Friday night with a spirited performance.
Ukraine are largely a counter attacking side through their pacey wide men but they can certainly mix it in the middle of the park and if Germany aren’t on top form here this could get awkward for them. There is no pressure on Ukraine and it might be that we see the best of them right from the off in this tournament.
Key Man
Dynamo Kiev midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko has been touted by the big clubs for a while now and with a big tournament here there might be even more looking to secure his services. The winger is tidy on the back and with 25 goals at this level is a big danger.
Team News
Germany have to make a decision on whether Mats Hummels is fit to play. While this could be a tight group it isn’t in the best interests of the team to play him if he isn’t fully fit and all the vibes are that he isn’t going to be 100%.
Ukraine have to decide on how attacking they want to be. You’d think they would be a little cautious here so Denys Garmash, Viktor Kovalenko and Serhiy Sydorchuk could all be fighting for the one spot in the starting line up.
Head to Head
With Ukraine fairly new on the world scene these two sides have only met five times previously and Ukraine are still looking for their first win. They will have taken some encouragement from the fact they have held the Germans on three occasions and only lost twice but they’ve never met in a match of this magnitude before.
Betting
Germany are expected to win this match but we’ve not seen any side have an easy time of it so far and my gut instinct is that they’re not going to enjoy one either. I think Ukraine have some dangerous players in their side and they can cause Germany some problems.
In recent times we’ve seen England and Slovakia head to Germany and win and that is unheard of when they are at their very best so there is evidence there that this might not be all one way traffic. It almost gives me enough encouragement to chance Ukraine in this match but there is no need to do that in light of the fact I’m on them outright.
Germany’s recent clean sheet against Hungary was their first in their last nine outings in all competitions and that certainly isn’t what we would expect from them. Usually they would be much tighter than that but this side do like to attack and are prepared to accept the consequences.
The statistics say there is every chance of both sides finding the net in this match and given how leaky Germany have been recently and some of these goals having been conceded to the likes of Scotland, Georgia and the Republic of Ireland there is enough to believe Ukraine can score. Both to score looks too to me at even money.
Tips
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