Ahead of their Group C clash in Lyon on Thursday, Northern Ireland and Ukraine UAE-based fans give their verdict on the game.
To gain an insight into the mindset of the fans, we asked UAE fans to share with us their predictions, likely line-ups and players to watch.
Do you agree or have they missed the mark? Use #360Fans to share with us your thoughts.
NORTHERN IRELAND – Stephen McWilliam (Fire Station Manager, Dubai)
Northern Ireland go into this match against the Ukraine on the back of a disappointing 90 minutes in their opener against Poland, where Michael O’Neill’s men looked nervous and never really threatened their opponents’ goal. Against Ukraine there is of course more hope, especially as they also lost their opening match – albeit against reigning world champions Germany. Still, both sides will be wanting to get their campaigns back on track.
Steven Davis was one of the few players that came away with any credit from the first game and will be our main threat once again, while I am expecting a bit more from Johnny Evans, who was great defensively against Poland but poor in terms of his distribution.
I always feel that if Northern Ireland are to score it is likely to be from a corner or a free-kick – Gareth McAuley is among those who provide a threat from set-pieces. On the ground, we’ll be relying on Kyle Lafferty, who has proved his fitness and should start again. He will however require better service from the midfield if he is going to make an impact – hopefully O’Neill will play a 4-5-1 formation that better utilizes wingers who can provide good deliveries for Kyle Lafferty.
The players and fans will give it everything in remembrance of Darren Rodgers, the young Northern Irish fan who lost his life at the weekend after the opening game.
PREDICTION: Ukraine 1-2 Northern Ireland
LIKELY NORTHERN IRELAND XI: McGovern; McAuley, Evans, Cathcart, Baird; Ferguson, McNair, Norwood, McLaughlin, Davis; Lafferty
NORTHERN IRELAND PLAYER TO WATCH: Will Grigg – Hopefully he can get a little more game time as we need goals if we are going to progress. If not, his famous chant will still of course entertain the masses!
UKRAINE PLAYER TO FEAR: Yevhen Konoplyanka – With bags of pace and coming off a great season with Sevilla, the winger will be a major threat down the flanks.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: Pie and Guinness will be back on the menu at the Media One Hotel.
UKRAINE – Yevheniy Semenov (Software Engineer, Abu Dhabi)
Although the 2-0 defeat to Germany was not exactly unexpected, it still means that Ukraine must now take maximum points in our remaining two matches, with the Northern Ireland game turning into a must-win encounter.
Andriy Yarmolenko and co. will be looking for a little more luck this time and will try to control the tempo like they did in the last 15 minutes of the first half with the Germans.
I think after the last game our coach Mykhailo Fomenko will rest midfielder Serhiy Sydorchuk as he was a little anonymous in Lille. Most likely it will be captain Ruslan Rotan to replace him. Another midfielder Viktor Kovalenko said the first game was “exhausting” for him personally so he might be also replaced, by Oleksandr Zinchenko or Denys Garmash, in the start XI.
The showdown against Northern Ireland will be of paramount importance for our team but I am confident we will win and move towards a place in the last-16 of Euro 2016.
PREDICTION: Ukraine 2-1 Northern Ireland
LIKELY UKRAINE XI: Piatov, Fedetskyi, Khacheridi, Rakytskyi, Shevchuk, Rotan, Stepanenko, Kovalenko, Yarmolenko, Konoplianka, Zozulia.
UKRAINE PLAYER TO WATCH: Andriy Yarmolenko – The Dynamo Kiev winger is Ukraine’s creative genius – his skill and direct running should definitely worry Northern Ireland.
NORTHERN IRELAND PLAYER TO FEAR: Davis – When the Southampton midfielder plays well, Northern Ireland play well; their captain makes the midfield tick and is also good at breaking up play.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: More than 100 Ukraine supporters watched the last game at the Blu Sky Lounge & Grill at Southern Sun, Abu Dhabi. It will be the host venue for the Ukrainian Community to watch the match against Northern Ireland.
