France vs Ukraine 08/10/20

08 October 2020

Stade de France is the venue as France and Ukraine go head-to-head in an exciting international friendly contest.

The hosts have hit somewhat a purple patch of form, racking up a nine-game unbeaten run (W8, D1), beating their rivals ‘to nil’ on five of those occasions. Furthermore, ‘Les Bleus’ have won all but one of their 11 home games (W11, D2) since defeating Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 World Cup final, scoring over 1.5 goals in nine of those fixtures. Interestingly, though, both of France’s previous two home victories have seen them come from behind to claim a win and find the net beyond the 75-minute mark. There’s virtually no reason for Didier Deschamps’ team not to maintain their impressive home run, as they take on a nation they’ve shut out in all four of their H2H meetings held on home soil (W3, D1).

Meanwhile, a 4-0 away thumping to Spain last time out has brought Ukraine’s remarkable 12-game unbeaten run to an end (W8, D4), and it was the first time since March 2019 that they failed to get on the scoresheet. Indeed, except for that dismal loss in Madrid, the ‘Yellow and Blue’ have netted over 1.5 goals in three of their previous four road trips, scoring in both halves on each of those occasions. But, after shipping just one goal in four away fixtures, Ukraine’s dip in form has seen them concede 2+ goals in two consecutive trips in the build-up to this encounter. In turn, both of their last visits to France have seen them allow at least two goals without reply.