Ukraine vs Kazakhstan prediction, preview, team news and more | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Ukraine and Kazakhstan meet at the Olympic National Sports Complex in Kiev hoping to get their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns up and running.
Both sides are still without a win and find themselves trailing in Group D.
The Yellow and Blues have drawn both their games so far, holding world champions France to a 1-1 draw before securing the same result against Finland.
Having qualified for the upcoming European Championship, Andriy Shevchenko's men are aiming to reach their second-ever World Cup finals since 2006.
No one's giving the Hawks any chance, though. They are 122nd in the world rankings, and often touted as the weakest side in their group.
After failing to qualify for the 1998 and 2002 editions as an independent nation, Kazakhstan joined UEFA, but it's been the same torrid run in these qualifiers.
They were beaten 2-0 by France on matchday one, but Talgat Baysufinov's men put up a good performance.
Ukraine vs Kazakhstan Head-To-Head
The two countries have previously played each other four times, all in World Cup qualifiers, with Ukraine beating Kazakhstan on each occasion.
Their upcoming clash will be the first since June 2009.
Ukraine Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-L-D-D
Kazakhstan Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-L-L-L
Ukraine vs Kazakhstan Team News
Ukraine
Vitaliy Mykolenko was suspended from the clash for getting sent off in the draw with Finland last weekend.
But while he's the only notable absentee, Shevchenko could make a few changes ahead of their last qualifier before the Euros.
Stalwarts like Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Pyatov haven't played a single minute in these qualifiers so far and may be given a run against Kazakhstan.
Junior Moraes, who came off the bench in both games and scored against Finland, might finally start.
Injured: None
Suspended: Vitaliy Mykolenko
Unavailable: None
Kazakhstan
Kazakh head coach Talgat Baisufinov confirmed in his press conference after the France game that Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov is still out injured. He will not play a part against Ukraine.
Injured: Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Ukraine vs Kazakhstan Predicted XI
Ukraine (4-3-3): Andriy Pyatov; Yukhym Konoplya, Mykola Matviyenko, Sergiy Kryvtsov, Bogdan Mykhaylichenko; Oleksandr Karavaev, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Eduard Sobol; Marlos, Junior Moraes, Yevgen Konoplyanka.
Kazakhstan (5-4-2): Aleksandr Mokin; Marat Bystrov, Temirlan Yerlanov, Sergey Malyi, Nuraly Alip, Ruslan Valiullin; Serikzhan Muzhikov, Askhat Tagybergen, Vladislav Vasiliev; Azat Nurgaliyev, Maxim Fedin.
Ukraine vs Kazakhstan Prediction
Both teams are currently on a long, winless run so it's difficult to identify a clear favorite here.
However, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have impressed in their own ways in the qualifiers thus far, and we're predicting a draw in this encounter.
Prediction: Ukraine 1-1 Kazakhstan