Euro 2016 Qualifier preview and odds: FYR Macedonia vs. Ukraine

Published on: 08/10/2015

Euro 2016 Qualifier preview and odds: FYR Macedonia vs. Ukraine

October 9, 2015 19:45pm National Arena Philip II of Macedonia, Skopje

Euro 2016 Group C

Ukraine still have a slim chance of grabbing a direct ticket to the 2016 European Championship Finals but they will need other results to go their way. On Friday night they travel to Macedonia to play out the penultimate game of their Group C campaign.

Play-off berth guaranteed for Ukraine

If results do not go their way, Ukraine will have to settle for a place in the play-offs, so all will not be lost for Mykhaylo Fomenko`s men should they fail to leapfrog their rivals.

Their quest for second-place could be hindered by their inferior record in head-to-head games against second-placed Slovakia. There is also a mathematical possibility that they could overhaul Spain, but that scenario would require lowly Luxembourg to beat the reigning Euro champions in Friday night`s other game.

Macedonia looking for strong finish

FYR Macedonia have no chance of qualifying for the finals in France next summer but they can still avoid a last-place finish in Group C. They currently sit just a point below Luxembourg who face a trip to Spain on the same night.

Coach Ljubinko Drulović can take heart from his player`s performance when the sides met in Lviv back in October. Despite the home sides dominance, it took a solitary goal from Ukraine`s Serhiy Sydorchuk to separate the teams. That game was the first ever competitive encounter between the two nations.

Team news

For the Ukrainians, Denys Garmash is available for selection after missing the last game through suspension. Meanwhile, Macedonia will welcome back Besart Abdurahimi and Stefan Ristovski who have also served one-game bans for disciplinary issues.

Recent form (Euro Qualifying)

FYR Macedonia: LLLLL

Ukraine: DWWLW

Betting odds and tips

The home side have lost seven out of eight qualifying matches so far with their only win coming at home to fellow whipping boys Luxembourg. Although they did well to restrict Ukraine to a single goal the last time the teams met, in reality, the score line could have been much worse.

Macedonia have failed to score in half of their qualifying games so far, You can back the visitors to win to nil at 20/21 with Boylesports.

Andriy Yarmolenko has scored four goals in eight qualifying games for Ukraine and can be backed at 7/4 to score anytime with Bet365.

Published on: 08/10/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (08/10/2015 09:54:39) but are subject to change.