Will the hosts have problems? Ukraine vs Albania Prediction
In one of the first-round matches of the UEFA Nations League group stage, Ukraine will face Albania in Prague. Here's the match prediction from the Dailysports expert team.
Ukraine
The Ukrainian national team was expected to make a breakthrough at the European Championship in Germany, but they ultimately disappointed. Sergey Rebrov's squad secured their spot at Euro 2024 through playoff wins against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Iceland. In both matches, Ukraine conceded first but managed to mount comebacks.
At Euro 2024, Ukraine achieved a notable comeback victory in the second round, defeating Slovakia 2-1. However, they had suffered a heavy loss in their opening match to Romania, which played a decisive role in determining the group standings. In the final match, Ukraine drew with Belgium, but other results in the group left the "Yellow-Blues" out of the tournament.
Albania
Albania also fell short of expectations at the European Championship, though they faced a much tougher group. The Balkan side was placed in the "group of death," which included reigning European champions Italy, future champions Spain, and 2022 World Cup bronze medalists Croatia.
Albania failed to secure a single victory, losing 1-2 to Italy and 0-1 to Spain. However, they managed to frustrate Croatia with a 2-2 draw in the second round, a result that ultimately prevented the Croatians from reaching the playoffs. Albania, on the other hand, finished at the bottom of their group.
Interesting Facts and Head-to-Head History
- The teams met during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, with Ukraine winning 2-0 away but dropping points in a 2-2 home draw.
- In the last two friendly matches, Ukraine emerged victorious.
- The "Both teams to score" bet has hit in three of the last encounters between these teams.
Ukraine vs Albania Prediction
Both teams are part of a balanced group that also includes the Czech Republic and Georgia. Every point matters, and our bet is on a "Ukraine win" at odds of 1.89.
