Ukraine vs England: prediction, preview & team news / UEFA Euro 2020

Saturday evening sees Ukraine face off with England in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

England travel to Rome to face Ukraine in the quarter-finals of this year’s European Championship, aiming to reach the last four of the competition for only the third time.

The match will take place at the Stadio Olimpico and the Three Lions will be confident of victory after securing a 2-0 win over Germany in the round of 16.

Both sides will be desperate to win in order to make it into the semi-finals of Euro 2020, with England not getting that far since 1996 and Ukraine never making it to the semis before.

Ukraine progressed to the last eight with a goal in added time at the end of extra time against Sweden on Tuesday.

England have won three of their four matches at Euro 2020 and it’s hard not to see them beating a Ukraine side who were involved in a draining quarter-final against Sweden.

This will also be the fourth city Ukraine have visited during the finals, after Amsterdam, Bucharest and Glasgow. In contrast this will be England’s only match away from Wembley, regardless of the outcome.

With both teams carrying plenty of momentum from their wins over Germany and Sweden respectively, this one could be a closer match to call than many expect.

Ukraine vs England predictions:

• England are yet to concede in their four matches at Euro 2020.
• England are unbeaten in their last 10 matches.
• Ukraine have conceded in each of their four matches at Euro 2020.
• Ukraine have no win in the last three meetings with England.
• Three of Ukraine’s four matches at this competition have produced over 2.5 goals.

Ukraine came through a tricky group that included the Netherlands, Austria and North Macedonia, but hardly did it in impressive fashion.

Andriy Shevchenko’s side actually lost two games, but made the knockout stages with one win as the tournament’s fourth-best third-placed side.

Few fans expected them to overcome Sweden, but with the game tied at 1-1 and Sweden reduced to 10 men, a 121st-minute goal from Artem Dovbyk was enough to propel Ukraine into the quarter-finals.

England fans, were disappointed by their side’s group stage performances, despite Gareth Southgate’s men taking two wins and a draw without conceding a goal.

But Tuesday’s win over Germany was much more impressive. The Three Lions shut down the 2014 World Cup winners and ran out well-deserved winners thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

Southgate will now have to ensure his side don’t get caught up in the hype. Ukraine are lower-profile opponents than Germany, but are definitely no less dangerous at this point.

This promises to be a tricky match for Ukraine, as their record against England over the years has been relatively poor.

They do have one win over the Three Lions – beating Fabio Capello’s side in a dead-rubber World Cup qualifier in 2009. But they’ve also lost four of their seven meetings, including a 1-0 defeat at Euro 2012.

The last time the sides faced off was in a 2014 World Cup qualifier – and the game finished 0-0.

Ukraine and England have not locked horns since playing out a goalless draw in a 2013 friendly, and the only time these sides previously met in the Euros came one year before that, during which a Wayne Rooney winner propelled the Three Lions to a 1-0 group-stage success.

England will come into this match as heavy favorites, but it should be interesting to see how they cope playing away from Wembley for the first time in the tournament.

Ukraine will be a dangerous opponent for them, but they may also be tired after their exertions against Sweden on Tuesday, and their defense didn’t look great during the group stages.

Our prediction: England win @ 1.45