Georgia will look to put an opening round defeat behind them in League B of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) when they host a strong Ukraine side who started off their campaign with a good away win.
Match News and Current Form
Georgia lost their opening UNL game for the first time ever as they were beaten by a very late Northern Ireland goal on Friday night, with the Crusaders possibly not helped by being forced to play behind closed doors in a game that served as their maiden reversal of 2026 (W2, D2). That was only the second instance of a four-game unbeaten streak since 2022, but it didn’t do anything to help the defence of Willy Sagnol, who was sacked in the aftermath and replaced by Ramaz Svanadze. He steps up from the U21s team and his first task is to improve upon a run of six defeats in their last seven games (W1), but history suggests Georgia may bounce back in Tbilisi, where they have only lost five of their last 20 outings (W10, D5).
Ukraine started their third successive League B campaign by beating Hungary 1-0 last time out. That was a first competitive match in charge for new boss Andrea Maldera, who took the reins after the Blue and Yellows were disappointingly beaten by Sweden in their FIFA World Cup play-off in March, with his four games in charge producing three wins accompanied by a clean sheet and one loss. The challenge for Maldera now is to help Ukraine win back-to-back competitive designated away games, something they haven’t done since March 2024, as they look to return to League A for the first time since 2020/21.
Head-to-Head History
Ukraine are unbeaten across the 11 previous meetings between these nations (W7, D4), although those four draws have all come in away fixtures (W2), including in this competition in 2024.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Eight of Georgia’s last ten competitive internationals featured over 2.5 goals.
The four goals Georgia have conceded in 2026 all came after half-time.
Only one of Ukraine’s last eight UNL fixtures was goalless at half-time.
Ten of the last 13 goals conceded by Ukraine in competitive matches have come after half-time.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Eight of Georges Mikautadze’s 23 international goals have come across 15 UNL appearances, including six in his last five games in the competition. Ukraine will hope Roman Yaremchuk can extend a seven-match streak of finishing on the winning side when he has scored for his country.
Georgia don't have any obvious absentees, but Ukraine’s Oleksandr Nazarenko is suspended after being sent off in the dying moments of the win over Hungary.
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Betting Analysis
These two teams seem to weaken defensively after the break, so backing the second half to be the highest scoring could prove wise.
Author: Matt Jones