Slovakia head to the Düsseldorf Arena knowing that avoiding defeat versus Ukraine will all but secure their place in the knockout stages of EURO 2024.
Francesco Calzona’s side come into the match having secured a stunning 1-0 victory over Belgium on Monday.
Forward Ivan Schranz's seventh minute strike was enough to secure the three points, though Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku did have two goals disallowed for his nation in the second half.
The win, statistically, stands as the biggest upset in a European Championships since the introduction of the FIFA World Rankings in 1992.
Belgium sat third in the rankings heading into the match, but still fell short against a Slovakia side 45 places below them.
Ukraine, meanwhile, suffered a damaging 3-0 defeat to Romania on the same day and are now in dire need of points if they are to progress.
Mistakes by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin were capitalised on by Nicolae Stanciu and Razvan Marin, before Denis Dragus added a third 33 minutes from full time.
Team News
Slovakia
Slovakia will be buoyant following their historic victory over Belgium.
Calzona has no injury concerns to worry about ahead of the match at the Dusseldorf Arena and will likely name the same 11 that overcame the Red Devils earlier this week.
Ukraine
Manager Serhiy Rebrov also has a full squad to pick from as his side look to bounce back from the Romania match.
Everton left-back Vitaliy Mykalenko was on the bench against Romania after previously nursing a foot injury, but is unlikely to start this one.
Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko can therefore be expected to continue in that position, despite predominantly featuring in midfield for his country.
Midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi may come in for either Mykola Shaparenko or Taras Stepanenko, both of whom were poor in the Romania defeat.
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Likely Lineups
Slovakia
Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin
Ukraine
Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko; Shaparenko, Malinovskyi; Tsygankov, Sudakov, Mudryk; Dovbyk
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Key Players
Slovakia - David Hancko
Left-back David Hancko was superb in the Belgium match and will need to be at his best again here if his side are to get a result in Dusseldorf.
Hancko won 50% of his duels against the Red Devils, while also managing three ball recoveries against a tricky opponent in Jeremy Doku.
He will go up against Ukraine winger Viktor Tsygankov this time around, who has excelled in club colours this season for Girona where he regularly teed up fellow countryman Artem Dovbyk in La Liga.
Romania were able to limit Tsygankov’s impact on the game and Hancko will be looking to do the same in order to keep the Ukrainian attacking output to a minimum.
Ukraine - Artem Dovbyk
Striker Artem Dovbyk enjoyed a phenomenal season for Girona, netting 25 goals in total but, alongside the aforementioned Tsygankov, was limited in his involvement against Romania.
The 26-year-old averaged a just 0.06 expected goals (xG) across the 90 minutes and managed just a single shot on goal.
Dovbyk is no stranger to scoring important goals for his country, having already netted a late winner at a European Championships against Sweden three years ago.
He remains Ukraine’s main threat in front of goal and will need to be back to his imposing best against a stubborn Slovakia defence on Friday afternoon.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The match takes place at the Düsseldorf Arena in Düsseldorf. The stadium is home to 2. Bundesliga outfit Fortuna Düsseldorf.
What time is kick-off?
The match kicks-off at 2pm UK time.
How can I watch?
The match is being broadcast live on BBC One in the UK and is also available to watch via BBC iPlayer.
