Ukraine and Italy meet on Monday in a game which will directly decide who immediately books their place at UEFA Euro 2024 and who must wait for the playoffs to stand another chance. Second spot in Group C behind England is up for grabs and it will be the Azzurri’s if they can avoid defeat. A win for the “home” side, though, would send Serhiy Rebrov’s men to next summer’s tournament directly as they are currently third despite being level on points with the Italians. Ukraine did not make it to the FIFA 2022 World Cup but they did go all the way to the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2020 before losing to eventual beaten finalists England. The Blue and Yellows should land a playoff spot through the UEFA Nations League if they were to lose, but they are not yet guaranteed unlike Italy who would immediately go into the playoffs.
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Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Monday, Nov. 20 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: BayArena — Leverkusen, Germany
- Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Fubo’s holiday offer just kicked off! For a limited time, new subscribers can save $40 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite and Premier plans ($20 off the first and second months). - Odds: Ukraine +300; Draw: +250; Italy -110
Team news
Ukraine: Girona’s Artem Dovbyk should lead the attack while Chelsea’s Mykhaylo Mudryk is also expected to start. Yukhym Konoplya should also feature in midfield as well as Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko who captains the side. Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko and Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi are also expected to start for the Ukrainians.
Potential Ukraine XI: Trubin; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Sydorchuk, Zinchenko; Konoplya, Sudakov, Mudryk; Dovbyk.
Italy: Luciano Spalletti could go for the same XI we saw against North Macedonia last Friday which saw Federico Chiesa score twice. The Juventus man should continue on the left with Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori also expected to feature. Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Giacomo Bonaventura formed the midfield and are unlikely to be changed, but Nicolo Zaniolo and Davide Frattesi are options for Spalletti to consider.
Potential Italy XI: Donnarumma; Darmian, Gatti, Acerbi, Dimarco; Barella, Jorginho, Bonaventura; Berardi, Raspadori, Chiesa.
Prediction
This one should be a tight encounter with chances for both sides to win it. However, a point will be enough for Italy and that is what they should get in Germany to book their Euro 2024 spot. Pick: Ukraine 1, Italy 1.