Kazakhstan vs Ukraine Preview

There will be at least two changes to the squad that faced Belarus on Saturday, but not the ones many Ukraine fans were hoping to see. Forward Artem Milevskiy and defender Andriy Rusol will not be making the trip to Almaty due to injuries. Rusol picked up a knee knock, while the ankle injury Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko dubbed as “insignificant” will be enough to keep Milevskiy out of action. Andriy Nesmachniy has also been ruled out, as he continues to struggle with an injury that has limited him all season. Tavriya midfielder Denys Golaydo has been added to the squad as a replacement.

Milevskiy’s absence likely means that Andriy Shevchenko will start and Andriy Voronin will keep his place in the team. Sheva’s presence will surely receive a positive reaction from the fan base, but giving Voronin another go after his dreadful showing in Lviv would be an indication that the current squad is dangerously short on strikers. With both first choice center backs out for this match, Mykhaylichenko also has a tricky decision on who to partner with Taras Mykhalyk.

Ukraine’s only experience with Kazakhstan has been during World Cup 2006 qualifying. A stoppage time goal from Ruslan Rotan was needed to escape Almaty with a 2-1 win, followed by a more comfortable 2-0 victory in Kiev. Dutchman Arno Pijpers has been at the reigns of Kazakhstan since 2005. His biggest scalp so far has been a home victory over Serbia during Euro 2008 qualifying. Dinamo Moscow midfielder Andrei Karpovich is the only member of the squad to play his football outside Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs lost to Croatia 3-0 in Zagreb on Saturday:

On paper Kazakhstan is a lesser challenge than Belarus, but they will be buoyed after seeing Ukraine’s last outing, and should not be taken lightly. Hopefully Saturday was the only wake up call Mykhaylichenko and his squad will need.