Ukraine v Northern Ireland: Form points to low-scoring Ukrainian win
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Northern Ireland slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Poland in their Euro 2016 opener, and they’re set to lose another low-scoring affair against Ukraine, with Mykhaylo Fomenko’s men likely to do the damage during the second half.
Both are low scorers, with 16 of Ukraine’s last 25 competitive games finishing with under 2.5 goals, while six of Norn Iron’s matches in Euro 2016 qualifying also finished below that threshold.
That means the 5/4 for under 2.5 goals here could well be a popular bet, but both sides’ form suggests there may be even better value elsewhere.
Michael O’Neill’s charges shipped just eight goals in qualifying, but seven of those came in the second half.
And with Norn Iron proving solid in the opening period against Poland before succumbing after the break, the 3/1 for a draw at HT and Ukraine victory at FT could prove a very smart bet indeed.
So too could the 4/1 for Ukraine to win 1-0, with Northern Ireland failing to land a single shot on target in the match against Poland, and taking home the unwanted honour of being the first side since Euro 2000 to not have a single shot during a half.
However, patriotic members of the Green and White Army looking to back their boys could be onto a good thing backing Kyle Lafferty to be last goalscorer at 9/1.
Despite having few opportunities to get on the scoresheet against Poland, he scored the last goal in five of Norn Iron’s Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Ukraine are 4/7 for victory, with Northern Ireland 6/1 outsiders and 3/1 for a share of the spoils.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
