Preview: Northern Ireland vs Ukraine - prediction, team news, lineups

Fighting to maintain their lead at the top UEFA Nations League B's Group 2, Northern Ireland will host Ukraine at Windsor Park on Saturday.

The Norn Iron are unbeaten in the competition so far, while the Blue and Yellow arrive on the back of a three-game winless run.

Match preview

Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland are pushing for promotion to League A this term, after delivering a strong showing across their four Nations League clashes to date.

The Norn Iron have yet to concede a goal in Group 2, and currently sit at the top of the pile with eight points.

However, O'Neill's side are just one point above second-placed Hungary, who will be expecting to beat struggling Georgia on matchday five.

With that in mind, Northern Ireland will likely need to triumph this weekend in order to keep their automatic promotion spot, but for all their defensive resilience, they have found goals hard to come by.

Saturday's hosts played out a goalless draw with Georgia at on October 5, meaning that they have failed to find the back of the net at Windsor Park in this iteration of the Nations League, after a 0-0 stalemate with Hungary in late September.

On a more positive note, O'Neill's men thoroughly beat Ukraine 3-0 at City Arena Trnava last month - courtesy of a surprise brace from Ciaron Brown either side of a header from Isaac Price - a result that could give the Norn Iron a psychological edge.

Meanwhile, Andrea Maldera's Ukraine are at risk of relegation from League B after their campaign turned sour in October.

The Blue and Yellow kicked off with a commendable 1-0 victory over Hungary on September 25 before a 0-0 draw with Georgia three days later.

However, Maldera's side have not collected a single point since, following their 3-0 beating by Northern Ireland with a 2-1 defeat to Hungary most recently.

As a result, Ukraine are now third in Group 2 with just four points to their name, three behind second-placed Hungary and four short of the leaders.

A late promotion push seems unlikely, and with Georgia sitting just two points off the Blue and Yellow in the automatic relegation spot, the visitors will be focused on avoiding the drop.

Supporters searching for a positive could lean on the fact Ukraine are unbeaten on the road in the Nations League this term, though Maldera's men have only netted twice in four group games.

Northern Ireland Nations League form:

Ukraine Nations League form:

Team News

Northern Ireland are lighter in defence than ideal without Sunderland centre-back Dan Ballard (hamstring), Bolton Wanderers' Eoin Toal (muscle), or captain and Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley (knee).

In their absence, O'Neill could opt for a three-man line of Tom Atcheson, Ruairi McConville and Ciaron Brown in front of goalkeeper Pierce Charles, with Trai Hume and Justin Devenny as wing-backs.

As for Ukraine, they are missing Ajax duo Viktor Tsygankov and Oleksandr Zinchenko (knee), formerly of Manchester City and Arsenal, through injury.

With that in mind, expect to see Yehor Nazaryna and Georgiy Sudakov operate out wide, either side of Oleh Ocheretko and Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk in midfield.

Just behind them is likely to be a four-man defence featuring Paris Saint-Germain's Ilya Zabarnyi and Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykola Matvienko at centre-half, as well as Illia Krupskyi and Everton star Vitaliy Mykolenko at full-back.

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:

P Charles; Atcheson, McConville, Brown; Hume, S Charles, Galbraith, Devenny; Kelly, Price; Donley

Ukraine possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Krupskyi, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Nazaryna, Ocheretko, Yarmoliuk, Sudakov; Yarmechuk, Sikan

We say: Northern Ireland 1-0 Ukraine

Northern Ireland have been far from free flowing in the Nations League, but their defensive resilience has been impressive, especially with the likes of Ballard sidelined.

Ukraine have struggled even more than their hosts up front, and could find the Norn Iron's backline a tough test.

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