Georgia vs Ukraine — Tips & Analysis

Under 2.5: Ukraine arrive in Tbilisi missing most of their attacking first choices. Artem Dovbyk is out with a thigh problem, and Ruslan Malinovskyi and Vitaliy Mykolenko are both hurt. Oleksandr Nazarenko is suspended after a late second yellow card against Hungary. Ukraine also come off a 1-0 win in Budapest, so they know how to keep a game small. Georgia are in a strange place. They have lost five competitive games in a row, the last of them to a 99th-minute Northern Ireland winner, and they changed coach days later. Ramaz Svanadze has had three days to get a new plan across, so expect something simple and careful rather than open football. There is very little between these two teams, and the history says the same. Their last two meetings finished 1-1 and 0-1, and both were low scoring. Three days of rest for both squads also points to a slower, tighter night. A 1-1 tie is the likeliest finish here, and that keeps us on the right side. Be careful, though. Georgia's games average almost 3 goals in total and Ukraine's just over 3, so the quiet night is not a given. Ukraine's away games include a 5-3 in Iceland and a 0-4 in France. A brand-new coach with three days of work can also leave a mess at the back. Even so, both attacks are short of goals, and a tense night in Tbilisi keeps us on the low-scoring game.