It’s do or die time for England as they bid to book their place in the quarter-finals against the co-hosts.The Three Lions go into the game knowing that a draw will be good enough to book them a place in the last eight, and that outcome is a 3.4 shot with Boylesports.
They can be backed at a top priced 2.25 with Paddy Power to do it in style with a victory, while Ukraine are 3.7 shots in a game which they must go through to the last 8 at the expense of Roy Hodgson’s men.
One thing for sure is that Ukraine are going to will be fired up beyond belief and it’s going to be no cake-walk for England if they defend like they did in their 3-2 win over Sweden.
The good news however is that striker Wayne Rooney is set to be named in England’s starting XI, having served his two-match suspension .
The Manchester United striker is likely to replace Liverpool’s Andy Carroll, who scored the opening goal in the 3-2 win over Sweden.
Rooney is fresh and hungry to get stuck in, and it’s easy to see him getting on the scoresheet given that the Ukraine defence has looked vulnerable to say the least.
He is 6.5 chance with bet365 to score first, and that certainly looks a decent price as does the 2.6 with the same firm for him to net anytime.
Chelsea’s John Terry is 26 chance with Boylesports and Paddy Power to bag the opener, and he is always a threat at set pieces.
Theo Walcott, who scored the second goal against the Swedes, is doubtful to make the line-up suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury in training on Sunday but his absence is nothing compared to the possibility that Chelseas’s Andriy Shevchenko may miss the match for Ukraine.
The 35-year-old striker is struggling with a left knee problem sustained in the 2-1 win over Sweden and team doctor Leonid Myronov says the former Chelsea striker has a “50-50 chance” of featuring.
He is the major weapon in their side, and in his absence it’s hard to see Ukraine providing any real threat upfront.
If he doesn’t start then England really should be good enough to win this comfortably, and the 2.25 on offer with Paddy Power would look very generous.
I think, whether he starts or not, that they will emerge victorious and fancy them to win either 2-0 or 2-1.
The former is an 11 chance with bet365, Betfred and Paddy Power while the latter is a 9 chance with the same trio of firms.