Northern Ireland head to Slovakia on Friday with an unbeaten Nations League record — and still without conceding a goal.

Michael O’Neill’s side followed their dramatic 1-0 victory in Georgia with a goalless draw against Hungary at Windsor Park. Four points from two games leaves them level with Ukraine at the top of League B Group 2.

Ukraine’s start is almost identical. Andrea Maldera’s side beat Hungary 1-0 before drawing 0-0 in Georgia, meaning both teams have four points, one goal scored and none conceded.

Ukraine are officially the home side, but the game will be played in Trnava, Slovakia, as Ukraine continue to stage home internationals outside the country.

It doesn’t exactly scream Friday night goal-fest.

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What are the best betting tips for Ukraine vs Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland double chance

There’s enough evidence from the opening two games to give Northern Ireland a chance of getting something here.

O’Neill’s side have taken four points without conceding and, importantly, both performances have come against decent opposition.

They beat Georgia in Tbilisi despite facing a second-half penalty before arguably creating the better opportunities against Hungary. Patrick Kelly hit the crossbar and Isaac Price also tested Balázs Tóth in Monday’s draw.

Ukraine have the same points total, but their performances haven’t been particularly dominant.

They allowed Hungary 17 shots and around 2.03 xG in their 1-0 victory before producing just 0.20 xG and two shots on target in the goalless draw with Georgia.

The neutral venue matters too.

Northern Ireland don’t need to win for this selection to land, and their defensive performances make the double chance an interesting route.

Under 2.5 goals

This one almost picks itself from what we’ve seen so far.

There have been only two goals across the first four matches in Group B2. Every game has finished under 2.5 goals.

Ukraine 1-0 Hungary.
Georgia 0-1 Northern Ireland.
Georgia 0-0 Ukraine.
Northern Ireland 0-0 Hungary.

Both teams have therefore scored once and kept two clean sheets.

Northern Ireland have also failed to score more than once in each of their last nine internationals, while Ukraine managed only seven attempts and four touches inside Georgia’s penalty area on Monday.

Unless something changes dramatically, chances could be at a premium again.

Isaac Price 1+ shot on target

Price gives us a slightly more interesting player angle than simply backing another goals market.

The midfielder was one of Northern Ireland’s bigger attacking threats against Hungary and forced Tóth into a save. He also had another promising opportunity late in the game after breaking into the penalty area.

O’Neill’s system gives Price licence to get forward from behind Jamie Donley, and Northern Ireland have shown they’re happy to attack quickly when possession turns over.

Ukraine have conceded 31 shots across their opening two Nations League fixtures, despite somehow emerging from both without conceding.

Price only needs to work the goalkeeper once.

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What have the managers said?

Andrea Maldera:

Maldera expects very little between the teams after their almost identical starts to the group.

Speaking at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, the Ukraine boss said:

“I think Northern Ireland are a very good team.”

Maldera also highlighted Northern Ireland’s distinctive approach and said Ukraine have plenty of respect for O’Neill’s side.

“I think the match could be evenly balanced, as could the battle throughout the group.”

Ukraine have also suffered a late injury blow, with Maldera confirming that Vitaliy Mykolenko will not be available after feeling unwell.

Michael O’Neill:

O’Neill’s official pre-match press conference in Trnava is taking place on Thursday afternoon, so his comments from that briefing were not yet available at the time of writing.

However, the Northern Ireland boss was encouraged by Monday’s performance against Hungary.

“We played a very good side, I thought we were more than a match for the opposition.”

O’Neill was particularly pleased with another clean sheet, although he admitted his team lacked the final bit of quality required to turn one point into three.

“It’s another clean sheet for us, which is positive.”

He has also highlighted fatigue as a concern during this unusual four-game international window, particularly after Northern Ireland’s lengthy trip to Georgia before the Hungary game.

What is Ukraine’s predicted team?

(3-5-2) Trubin; Bondar, Zabarnyi, Mykhavko; Zubkov, Pikhalionok, Nazaryna, Khlan, Mykhailichenko; Sikan, Yaremchuk.

Injured: Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Maldera confirmed on Thursday that Mykolenko will miss the game, while Oleksandr Nazarenko is available again after serving his suspension against Georgia.

Ilya Zabarnyi could return to the defence after being rested against Georgia, while Roman Yaremchuk is pushing for a start in attack.

What is Northern Ireland’s predicted team?

(3-4-2-1) Pierce Charles; Atcheson, McConville, Brown; Hume, Galbraith, Shea Charles, Devenny; Kelly, Price; Donley.

Injured: Daniel Ballard, Conor Bradley, Ali McCann.

Ballard suffered a hamstring injury during the victory over Georgia and has been ruled out for the remainder of the international window.

Bradley and McCann were already unavailable when O’Neill named his squad.

Ruairi McConville replaced Ballard against Hungary and could keep his place, while O’Neill may be tempted to stick with the young core that has collected four points and consecutive clean sheets.

Ukraine vs Northern Ireland prediction

There really isn’t much separating these two after the opening week.

Same points. Same number of goals scored and conceded.

Ukraine possess more individual quality in certain areas, but they haven’t consistently turned possession into chances. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, have already shown they can dig in away from home and still create opportunities.

The venue also takes away some of the usual advantage Ukraine would receive from being the designated home team.

Another clean sheet might be asking a lot from O’Neill’s young defence, particularly without Ballard, but Northern Ireland look capable of frustrating Ukraine.

This has the feel of another tight Group B2 game.

Score prediction: Ukraine 1-1 Northern Ireland

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