Republic of Ireland v Ukraine betting tips: Irish out to end Nations League drought

Cruel defeat for Ukraine

Ukraine must try to pick themselves up after the disappointment of missing out on World Cup qualification at the weekend.

Securing a place at the finals in Qatar would have been a morale boost for the country during the ongoing conflict in the country but despite being the choice of neutrals, they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Wales.

WALES LEAD! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Gareth Bale's free-kick is diverted into his own net by
Andriy Yarmolenko! 😮 pic.twitter.com/cyj9ZrUlSK

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) June 5, 2022

Manager Oleksandr Petrakov said: “We did everything we could. I want to say sorry that we didn’t score. This is sport. One team got lucky, the other team did not get all the luck they needed.

“I do not have any criticism for any players in the team. There is no need to touch any of the players. If you want to criticise, criticise me. If the team loses, the only loser is the coach.”

Ukraine were the better team for long periods and although their motivation levels could be forgiven for dropping here, Ukraine’s players will still be playing for national pride.

Last week’s 3-1 victory over Scotland in the semi-final highlighted their attacking threat and 12/5 for the Euro 2020 quarter-finalists to score at least two goals is worth considering for Republic of Ireland v Ukraine betting tips.

Pressure on hosts

Ireland must regroup quickly if they are to have any hope of winning the group and the pressure is now on to make the most of back-to-back home games, with Scotland the third instalment of this month’s quadruple-header.

The defeat in Yerevan was perhaps their most disappointing result since they were beaten 1-0 at home by Luxembourg in March last year but boss Stephen Kenny is looking forwards rather than behind him.

Asked about his challenge to his players to win the group, he said: “We’ve made life difficult for ourselves, but rather than focusing on that, we’ve got to focus on bouncing back on Wednesday.

“We’ve got two home games now, we need to dust ourselves down. We’re disappointed with ourselves, we know it’s a poor result, we’re well aware of that.”

The need for points will hopefully lead to more attacking intent from the Irish and both teams to score catches the eye at evens.

Looking at the #YourCall markets for some Republic of Ireland v Ukraine betting tips, the visitors to win or draw, both teams to score in the second half and over 2.5 goals appeals at 15/2.

Alternatively, both teams to score, over 2.5 goals and either team to win is an option at 9/4.

Republic of Ireland v Ukraine team news

Kenny will have to assess the toll 90 gruelling minutes under the Armenian sun and the long journey back to Dublin took on his players before he names his team.

One man who will not be involved is skipper Seamus Coleman, who has been ruled out with a groin injury and could struggle to make Saturday’s clash with Scotland and the return against Ukraine in Poland next Tuesday.

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication