The Football Writer: England v Ukraine Preview

Neeeeeeeeeeeigh

After the efficient 1-1 draw with the French and the comeback win against the Swedes, hopes are high for the final group match against the co-hosts Ukraine. Trying to predict or preview any England match is always a bit dodgy, the factor of unpredictability comes into play more in England games than any other. I mean who could have predicted that a horse (Andy Carroll) would head home England's opener against Sweden.

Out of respect and not wanting to jinx any potential England victory by ignoring our hosts, I'll start by assessing Ukraine. I would expect them to stick with their 4-1-2-1-2 formation which can sometimes change into a 4-1-3-2 when defending with Nazarenko dropping deeper. They started the tournament in magnificent fashion with a 2-1 win over Sweden, despite falling behind they dominated the match with an impressive 57% of possession, interestingly more than England when they played the Swedes.

Sheva

That game saw the 2nd coming of Andriy Shevchenko who's brace showed he could still finish at the top level, even if he cant run. I will add that those headers came against a slack Swedish defence with no pace, although that same defence contains a Swedish defender in Olof Mellberg that twice scored against us - swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Yevhen Konoplyanka

In both their games the Ukrainians played with a certain style and swagger. The most impressive players for me were Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka, two tricky wingers with lots of pace and the ability to drift inside and cause more havoc. However for all there style and ability defensively is where the problems are for the Ukraine.

Calamity Pyatov

Anatoly Tymoschuk, the Bayern Munich midfielder, sits in front of the defence as more of a protector of the back four than an enforcer. The worry is that the Ukrainian defence will switch off at key moments or as manager Oleg Blokhin puts it, 'We have problems related to both the central defenders and full-backs, figuratively speaking, our defenders do not even tackle properly'. So Tymoschuk is there too see danger and prevent it. If you have watched both Ukraine games it is easy to spot their main weakness, Andriy Pyatov. His erratic style of goalkeeping means he can produce world class saves and then throw one in. If you've yet to see him in action here he is (watch out for his brilliant attempt at jumping over Andres Iniesta's finish)

As regards England before the tournament it was, ' we are not favourites to win it, so maybe we will win it'. After the France game, ' we have drawn with one of the best teams in the world, so maybe we will win it'. After the Sweden game, ' WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS'. Whatever your aspirations for England, it cannot be denied that Roy Hodgson has moulded us into a hard to beat and well organized team.

Group Hug..........Go on then

The only decisions Roy has to make, is whether he should bring Wayne Rooney back into the team following his suspension and after his Man of the Match display against Sweden whether Theo Walcott should replace James Milner. I believe that Roy will bring Wayne Rooney back into the team for Andy Carroll, despite his impressive performance against the Swedish the prospect of linking up the Manchester United trio of Rooney, Young and Welbeck is just too mouthwatering. I also believe that James Milner with start ahead of Theo Walcott, simply for the fact that England's weak link (If they have one!) is Glen Johnson. Milner is there to fill in the hole Johnson leaves when he bombs forward.

The vital cog in this England squad is the team spirit and it is vital it keeps turning. We have already seen a squad that is arguably better than England in the Dutch, go home following a lack of unity. Arjen Robben's greediness on the ball and Klass-Jan Hunterlaar thinking and saying his should start ahead of Robin Van Persie all lead to the the downfall of the Dutch team (it also may have had something to do with their naff defence). From Gary Neville to Jack Butland the squad have a harmonious team spirit, which was non-existence two years ago in South Africa.

Whatever happens tonight in Donetsk, the main thing is England play for the win and don't sit on the draw as that can only lead to disaster. Also it would be nice to finish top of the group and play the Italians rather than the Spanish in the Quarters. COME ON ENGLAND