Wales v Ukraine betting tips: Energetic visitors can book plane to Qatar
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Preview, odds and Wales v Ukraine betting tips
Wales are just one game away from competing at the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958 and standing in their way on Sunday are Ukraine, who beat Scotland at Hampden Park on Wednesday night.
Rob Page’s side are the 17/10 favourites to win the play-off final but let’s look at some of the other options in our Wales v Ukraine betting tips.
Wales v Ukraine form
Wales warmed up for Sunday’s crucial clash in Cardiff with a 2-1 defeat against Poland in their Nations League opener on Wednesday when Page kept his powder dry by fielding a makeshift side.
Captain Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Ben Davies and Joe Allen were all rested for the trip to Warsaw where Jonny Williams gave the Welshmen a second-half lead only for substitutes Jakub Kaminski and Karol Swiderski to turn the game on its head in the final 18 minutes.
Page said: “I didn’t leave anybody out because there were injury concerns.
“I left them out purely because we’ve got the game on Sunday. There was a group that trained today and I already had the substitutions planned before the game.
“The plan was already in place. I didn’t need to risk Aaron, Gareth, Ben, Joe, there was no benefit in that whatsoever. They’ve done a controlled session, what they need to get them ready for Sunday.”
Wales are unbeaten at home in just under a year, a run of five games which included a 1-1 draw with Belgium that ensured a home play-off semi-final against Austria.
Bale scored two stunners in that game to secure a 2-1 victory and set up a meeting with either Ukraine or Scotland but that semi-final was delayed because of Russia’s invasion of their neighbours.
🇵🇱🏴 What positives did you take from the game? #TogetherStronger | #POLWAL pic.twitter.com/oN8iMBGcL9
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 1, 2022
Wales’ last five matches have involved goals at both ends which certainly catches the eye at evens, bearing in mind how positive Ukraine were in getting numbers forward at every opportunity at an emotionally-charged Hampden Park.
Craig Gordon made excellent saves to deny Viktor Tsygankov and Andriy Yarmolenko, who later latched on to a long ball and lobbed the Scotland keeper before Roman Yaremchuk headed in a second.
Despite Callum McGregor pulling one back, substitute Artem Dovbyk was sent clear in stoppage time to seal an impressive 3-1 victory for Ukraine, who were unbeaten in their World Cup qualification group.
What a performance 🇺🇦 👏 pic.twitter.com/wDvyyYHLVW
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 1, 2022
However, they drew six of their eight games to finish six points behind France, whose final-day victory over Finland coupled with Ukraine’s 2-0 victory at Bosnia-Herzegovina ensured a place in the play-offs for the eastern Europeans.
A draw is priced at 2/1, with goals at both ends 10/3, while it’s 10/1 on either team to win in extra time or 9/1 on penalties in our Wales v Ukraine betting tips.
However, another open game looks in prospect, just like in Glasgow, and we expect Ukraine to come out on top at 9/5, although they can also be backed at 5/1 to win and concede.
Wales v Ukraine head to head
The teams met in qualification for the 2002 World Cup when both group games ended in 1-1 draws which can be backed at 19/4, but in their third meeting Ukraine won 1-0 against a fringe team hoping to gatecrash Wales’ Euro 2016 squad.
Wales v Ukraine team news
Ukraine’s energy on Wednesday night was remarkable considering the strains the players must have been under since their country was invaded in February.
Olexandr Petrakov lined up his players in a 4-1-4-1 formation in which Yarmolenko led the line, with Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko operating in central midfield despite playing at left-back for his club.
Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi played alongside Zinchenko, with Yaremchuk on the right and Tsygankov on the other flank.
Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko took the left-back role but Wales will certainly fancy their chances of scoring against keeper Georgiy Bushchan, who had a couple of shaky moments, including a listless attempt to save McGregor’s shot for Scotland’s goal.
Wales are set to line up in a 3-5-2 formation in which Dan James and Bale play up front, with Allen in central midfield flanked by Ramsey and Harry Wilson.
Joe Rodon could take the central defensive mantle, with Davies on the left and Ethan Ampadu possibly on the right.
Goalscorer odds
Bale dominates the betting at 7/2 to break the deadlock and is 7/4 to score while another double or better is priced at 10/1.
James and Kieffer Moore played the first half in Poland as planned and are 8/1 and 11/2 respectively to get the ball rolling or 7/2 and 5/2 in the anytime market.
Brennan Johnson could make the starting line-up on Sunday and is 8/1 and 7/2 in the two options after scoring 19 goals this season to help Nottingham Forest return to the Premier League.
Yarmolenko is 6/1 to net the opener again or 11/4 to score, the same odds as Yaremchuk, but Zinchenko looks an interesting option in Sunday’s Wales v Ukraine betting tips at 11/1 and 9/2 having shown his attacking prowess in Glasgow.
Match Info
Where: Cardiff City Stadium
When: 17:00, Sunday 5th June
How to watch: Sky Sports, ITV and S4C
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
