SM
St Etienne vs. Metz: 20 hrs 51 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
UN
Friendlies 1
Jun 3, 2021 at 7pm UK
 
NI

Ukraine
1 - 0
N. Ireland

Zubkov (10')
Besedin (90+2')
FT(HT: 1-0)

McNair (90+3')

The talking points ahead of Northern Ireland's clash with Ukraine

:Headline: The talking points ahead of Northern Ireland's clash with Ukraine:
Ian Baraclough secured his first win as manager on Sunday, at the 12th attempt.
Sports Mole

Northern Ireland play their final match of the season on Thursday night when they take on Ukraine at the Dnipro Arena.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five talking points ahead of the friendly fixture.

Can I get an encore?

Northern Ireland got some major monkeys off their back in Sunday's 3-0 win over Malta – a first victory inside 90 minutes for Ian Baraclough at the 12th attempt, and also the first time the manager had seen his side score more than one goal in a match. The performance offered plenty for Northern Ireland to build on, but Thursday's fixture is a massively more difficult prospect. Where Malta are ranked 175th in the world and went into the weekend fixture desperately short of match fitness, Ukraine are ranked 24th and going through their final tune-ups for Euro 2020. The match will prove a very different test.

Ukrainian send-off

Ex-Chelsea forward Andriy Shevchenko will be in the opposition dugout (Steve Paston/PA)

It will happen behind closed doors, but Ukraine will be looking to lay down a marker before the summer in their penultimate fixture before they open their Group C campaign against Holland on June 13. That means players will be playing for their places in Andriy Shevchenko's side, with only this and Monday's match against Cyprus left for those on the fringes to make their mark.

Happy memories

Gareth McAuley scored in Northern Ireland's 2-0 win over Ukraine at Euro 2016 (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A fixture against the Ukrainians will send Northern Irish minds back to the last European Championships and Lyon. It was there that Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 2-0 with second-half goals from Gareth McAuley and Niall McGinn giving Michael O'Neill's side what proved to be their only points of the campaign.

Experience over youth

Baraclough's squad for this summer camp was a blend of youth and experience, but he went pretty much as strong as he could for the Malta match, naming a side that included Stuart Dallas as captain, Craig Cathcart, Paddy McNair and McGinn. Given the difficulty of Thursday's fixture it seems likely the manager will go a similar way again with only minimal changes expected to the starting line-ups. The 17-year-old Conor Bradley made his debut off the bench at the weekend, and opportunities for the youngsters are again only likely to come when changes are made after the break.

Reinforcements

Two players that might come into the reckoning to start are Kyle Lafferty and Dan Ballard. The pair were missing at the weekend as Ballard helped Blackpool to promotion via the League One play-off final, while Lafferty had been a late arrival following Kilmarnock's relegation. Both have now been integrated into the group and are available. George Saville, who was a substitute at the weekend after coming into the group late himself, will also be pushing for a start.

body check tags ::

amp_article__449968 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-06-02 14:30:44:
html db last update - 2021-06-02 14:16:19 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Ian Baraclough Football
Recommended Next on SM
Niall McGinn: 'Ukraine players will be fighting for Euro 2020 places'
Barcelona confirm Hansi Flick as new head coach
Preview: Sao Paulo vs. Talleres - prediction, team news, lineups
Tuesday's international friendly predictions including Spain vs. Brazil
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Manchester United 'considering Mason Greenwood swap for Atletico Madrid star'

1

MU

Sir Jim Ratcliffe 'sets out five rules next Man United manager must follow'

NEW

2

SJ

Preview: Waterford vs. Bohemians - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

3

PW

Preview: Mexico vs. Bolivia - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

4

PM

Mikel Arteta 'set for huge pay rise in new Arsenal contract'

5

MA

Preview: Olympiacos vs. Fiorentina - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PO

West Ham 'on the verge of signing Sheffield United regular'

7

WH

Preview: Roma vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PR

Brentford 'among Premier League clubs eyeing Luton playmaker'

9

B'

Barcelona 'to rival Man United for Everton star'

10

B'


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .