Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Ukraine Prediction: Away side can bag vital win

Bosnia-Herzegovina have never qualified for a European Championship finals but they are just two home wins away from reaching Euro 2024 as they prepare to take on Ukraine in their play-off semi-final in Zenica.

Ukraine narrowly missed out on automatic qualification after finishing third in Group C behind England and Italy, but they were quarter-finalists at Euro 2020 and will be hopeful of booking a place in Germany this summer.

The winning side will host either Israel or Iceland in the Path B final next Tuesday.

Team news

Bosnia are without suspended striker Ermedin Demirovic, who has scored 14 goals for Augsburg in the Bundesliga this season.

Ukraine must make do without Girona attacker Viktor Tsygankov, who misses out with a knee injury. However, Tsygankov’s club-mate Artem Dovbyk is expected to feature as the lone centre-forward.

Match odds

Bosnia-Herzegovina are 11/4 to win without needing extra-time or penalties, while Ukraine are EVS to advance in the same manner. It is 5/2 that the match goes to extra-time. Both teams to score (before extra-time) is a 5/6 chance.

Ukraine to win @ EVS

Ukraine were knocked out by Wales at the final hurdle of qualifying for World Cup 2022 but they are the strongest of the teams in the Euro 2024 play-offs and should progress to the Path B final by defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Bilino Polje Stadium.

Serhiy Rebrov’s team competed well in a tough qualifying group with their only defeats coming in away games against England (0-2) and Italy (1-2).

They finished level on points with Italy, but the Azzurri advanced due to a better head-to-head record.

Nonetheless, Ukraine have shown themselves to be a competitive side at the highest level and their qualifying performance has been far superior to Bosnia, who lost seven of ten matches in Group J.

Two of Bosnia’s victories came against basement boys Liechtenstein and their setbacks included heavy losses at home to Portugal (0-5) and away to Luxembourg (1-4).

Bosnia have some talented individuals, including 33-year-old Sharjah playmaker Miralem Pjanic and 38-year-old Fenerbahce striker Edin Dzeko, who is the top scorer in this season’s Turkish top flight with 18 goals.

However, they have simply not performed in qualifying and are worth opposing against an opponent as strong as Ukraine.

Artem Dovbyk to score any time @ 15/8

Ukraine’s Achilles heel for a few years was the lack of a reliable centre-forward, but that no longer seems to be the case thanks to the progress being made by Girona’s Artem Dovbyk.

The 26-year-old has netted 14 goals in 27 La Liga appearances this season and should soon start to make a more regular impact on the international stage.

Dovbyk has shown himself to be a reliable finisher and looks an overpriced 15/8 shot to score in Zenica.

Check out our other Euro 2024 Betting Tips here.