As Round 5 of Nations League approaches, Group B1 features exciting clashes with Georgia and Ukraine fighting on Saturday, 16 November. Standing at second and fourth place in the standings respectively, both the Crusaders and Ukraine aim to bounce back after dropping points in the last round.
Georgia vs Ukraine: Match Preview
Georgia were stable at the beginning of the Nations League this season with back-to-back victories against Czech Republic and Albania. However, the solid start to the campaign were surrendered with consecutive losses to Ukraine and Albania. The Crusaders’ attack looked effortless recently as they failed to score a single goal in the previous two fixtures. With two wins in four rounds, Georgia are second in the table, one point behind the leader Czech Republic, and level with Albania in the third position.
On the other end, Ukraine took a slow start to Nations League, enduring defeats to Albania and Czech Republic. But they recovered last month with a narrow 1-0 home victory against Georgia, Mykhailo Mudryk notching the goal. Afterwards, Artem Dovbyk converted a penalty against Czech to help Ukraine seal a single point from a 1-1 draw. However, opening two defeats have sent the Blue and Yellow to the bottom of the table and even a single point will be crucial on Saturday.
Georgia vs Ukraine: Head-to-Head Record
In the H2H record, Ukraine have outclassed their upcoming rivals. Georgia and Ukraine have faced each other seven times where the Blue and Yellow earned victories in five, ending the previous two in draws. Georgia and Ukraine have shared four BTTS outcomes in the previous five meetings but only two of them crossed the total of 2.5 goals.
| Date | Match | Competition |
| 11/10/24 | Ukraine 1-0 Georgia | UEFA Nations League |
| 09/06/15 | Georgia 1-2 Ukraine | Friendly International |
| 08/09/07 | Georgia 1-1 Ukraine | EURO |
| 06/09/06 | Ukraine 3-2 Georgia | EURO |
| 03/09/05 | Georgia 1-1 Ukraine | World Cup Qualifiers |
Georgia vs Ukraine: Team News and Predicted Lineups
Serie A defender Saba Goglichidze will be the only absentee for Georgia due to fitness concerns. Meanwhile, Ukraine will have to deal with the absence of three players for some reason. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is out due to personal reasons while Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleksandr Pikhalyonok will be sidelined due to injuries.
Georgia Predicted Lineup
Mamardashvili (GK); Gvelesiani, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Kochorashvili, Kiteischvili, Chakvetadze, Lochoshvili; Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia
Ukraine Predicted Lineup
Trubin (GK); Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Talovyerov, Matviyenko; Brazhko; Hutsulyak, Shaparenko, Sudakov, Mudryk; Dovbyk
Georgia vs Ukraine: Match Prediction
Despite an unfavorable record in the H2Hs against Ukraine, the home advantage gives them enough confidence to stay positive. The Crusaders have lost only one of the previous six games in front of the home fans while registering four victories. On the other hand, Ukraine have lost both of the away fixtures this season in Nations League. Therefore, a victory with a narrow margin for Georgia will be the most probable result for this game.
Georgia vs Ukraine Predicted Result: 2-1 victory for Georgia
