Turkey vs Ukraine
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Thursday, 6th October 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK
Venue: Buyuksehir Torku Arena, Konya.
Turkey host Ukraine in round two of qualifying Group I on Thursday evening in a meeting that may not catch the headlines, but promises to be a puzzle worth solving for punters.
Both sides enter on the back of opening week draws and you could throw a tea towel over the entire pool with all six nations currently on one point each. There’s a lot at stake but fortune favours the brave, so let’s find those fortunes.
Team News – Turkey
Turkey boss Fatih Terim leads his army into battle with confidence in the ranks following a useful 1-1 draw away to Croatia. Calhanoglu scored a late first-half goal to cancel out a Rakitic penalty in Maksimir and when you consider Croatia are hot-favourites to win the group, that has to go down as a point earned rather than two lost. Turkey to qualify from the group is worth keeping tabs on at 5/4 with Bet Victor while finishing as winners has been written off at 4/1 with Skybet.
That was the second draw in-a-row for Turkey, the other a goalless finish with Russia at home, and a third jumps off the page at us with Betfair offering a market best price of 12/5. The Turks do, in fact, come into this match unbeaten in their last three with a 2-0 win over Czech Republic at the European Championships in June. Yilmaz and Tufan were the scores on that occasion to finish their campaign on a high and Tufan scoring the last goal in this match has been chalked up at 22/1 with bet365.
It’s also worth noting that each of Turkey’s last two wins have come to nil and that again is a lively punt at 5/2 with Coral. Recent history comes down heavily on the side of the home dressing room too as Turkey ran out convincing 2-0 winners when Ukraine last came calling and if you fancy history repeating itself then 19/2 is your reward when having a go with Bet Victor. Turkey have won their last three with Ukraine, all without conceding, and the home win is 6/5 with most firms, including Coral.
Team News – Ukraine
Ukraine made it to France in the summer, but they almost shouldn’t have bothered, finishing up with a record of three defeats from three Group C matches. The Main Team failed to live up to their nickname and left the Euros without scoring a goal, losing 2-0 to Germany, 2-0 to Northern Ireland and 1-0 to Poland.
Andriy Shevchenko’s men didn’t start this latest campaign too brightly either, ending 1-1 with Iceland in Kiev. They needed a Yarmolenko goal just before half-time to pull level on that occasion and couldn’t make use of the second period to go in front. It’ll be viewed as a real disappointment by everyone in the Ukrainian team as form at home counts double in such a close group. Yarmolenko to pull his weight and score the final goal of the match again is 6/1 with Bet Victor.
The visitors’ last win came in a friendly match with Albania before the Euros where they claimed a 3-1 cheer and if you’re looking to take a stab in the dark at this one then that full time score again is 33/1 with Coral. Ukraine would surely accept a win by any method judging by their recent below-par form and the points going back to Kiev is 5/2 with Coral. Not a bad price but I’d want a bit more myself.
Predictions & Betting Tips
This won’t be a match for the purists by any stretch of the imagination but there’s points to be won and two teams who really could do with taking them. There doesn’t look to be much between these sides on paper either and both have been terrible for the most part, to be brutally honest.
If push came to shove I’d come down on the side of the home win, and odds compilers seem to be in agreement with me, but this is a real minefield and we must tread carefully. Turkey enjoy a great head-to-head record against Ukraine and can be trusted to maintain it but it’s also worth remembering that in each of the five previous meetings between these sides, only one team has scored. No in the both teams to score market won’t enhance your enjoyment of the match but it could pay-off at 9/10 with Bet Victor. The game producing less than 2.5 goals is around the 8/13 mark.
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Their latest meeting was in a friendly on June 2012 which ended 2-0 in favour of Turkey in front of their home crowd.
Turkey lead the overall head-to-head record against Ukraine with 4 wins, while they lost and drawn 1 each. They also came out with wins in each of their 2 trips to Ukraine, both by the same 3-0 margin. While their record at home is 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss from 4 matches.
A 1-1 draw at full-time looks good form and the odds of 6.00 are very encouraging. On the other hand, both teams to score is a better option for those who are looking for a pick for their combo slip.
Turkey vs Ukraine: Head-to-Head Stats
Their previous meeting in the World Cup qualification campaign was for the 2006 edition. The away side were winners in the two legs on both occasions; 3-0 win for Ukraine at Turkey on November 2004 which was followed by a 1-0 win for Turkey at Ukraine on September 2005.Their latest meeting was in a friendly on June 2012 which ended 2-0 in favour of Turkey in front of their home crowd.
Turkey lead the overall head-to-head record against Ukraine with 4 wins, while they lost and drawn 1 each. They also came out with wins in each of their 2 trips to Ukraine, both by the same 3-0 margin. While their record at home is 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss from 4 matches.
Turkey vs Ukraine: Prediction
Turkey have a pretty good record at home and had lost only once in their 19 matches since November 2014. While Ukraine are on a 6 match unbeaten run away from home. But Ukraine are a side that are still finding their feet under the new head-coach Andriy Shevchenko. Nonetheless, this will be a cagey affair and we don’t think any side have a clear advantage over the other. And this could end in a scored draw.A 1-1 draw at full-time looks good form and the odds of 6.00 are very encouraging. On the other hand, both teams to score is a better option for those who are looking for a pick for their combo slip.
Turkey vs Ukraine: Betting Tips
- Both Teams to Score at 1.95 (19/20).
- Correct Full-Time Score: 1-1 at 6.00 (5/1).
