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Ukraine test for England

Author: John Harris
Date: 09/10/2009
Football betting

England have already secured their place in the 2010 World Cup but face Ukraine away on Saturday in their penultimate Group Six qualifying match.

Build up to the game has been overshadowed by the television rights debacle.

The collapse of Setanta Sports, which had originally bought the rights to air the match, put the event up for sale but no broadcaster was willing to pay the one-off fee.

As a result, the Ukrainian Football Federation appointed a company named Perform to stream the match online, available to users around the UK for £9.99 if bought on Thursday or Friday and £11.99 if paid for on the day of the match.

The fact that England need no further points to qualify has given the tie a 'deadrubber' feel, but for the home side it is anything but deceased.

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While online betting third favourites England hammered Croatia 5-1 last month, Ukraine battled to a point away at Belarus - a side that have only beaten Andorra and Kazakhstan so far.

The goalless draw was seen as two points lost in the Ukrainian media, as it left the side two points behind Croatia with a game in hand.

With Croatia facing Kazakhstan and Ukraine travelling to Andorra in the last round of fixtures, Andriy Shevchenko's side know that they will need to be above their neighbours by Sunday morning if they are to have a serious chance of finishing second in the group.

That will mean picking up three points against an England side that are unbeaten in the group, lead all of European qualifying in goals scored and have a goal difference at least seven better than all other Euro nations.

In previous years, Ukraine could rely on England's complacency but the new-look side, built around Fabio Capello's experience and professionalism, is unlikely to be so forgiving.

Capello even has a strong squad to pick from, with only Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster and Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe missing out with injury, although Foster may have been dropped anyway after his recent dip in form.

That competitive squad will allow Capello to stick to his gameplan, with Wayne Rooney playing around one physical striker - probably not Emile Heskey, who hasn't featured regularly for Aston Villa.

Ukraine boast English experience, particularly in attack where Shevchenko should partner Liverpool's Andriy Voronin, while Barcelona's Dmytro Chygrynskiy misses out with injury.

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