WALES - NETHERLANDS

Guests should easily win here.

Nobody expected Wales to beat Ukraine three day ago and achieve qualification to the World Cup, but they luckily did it (and underserved). They are a competitive side, but were beaten by Poland in the 1st round of this Nations League (2:1) and for today they aren’t in the best circumstances to be at 100%.

With just three days to rest, coach Robert Page is forced to make some changes here. For example, said this about their best player and star Gareth Bale: “No disrespect to our changing rooms, but we haven't got 10 other Gareth Bales.” Bale is set to be rested for Wales' Nations League game against the Netherlands in Cardiff on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Netherlands started the tournament with an impressive away victory (1:4) over 2nd FIFA ranked Belgium. coach Louis van Gaal suggested he would ring the changes for the clash in Cardiff, with Van Dijk out for holidays and replaced by De Vrij. It isn’t a big issue in my opinion, and he said: “What Van Dijk can do, De Vrij can do too".

This match is expected to be dominated by Netherlands so I think that De Vrij won’t struggle too much, especially playing against a Wales team without Gareth Bale and other starters.

Wales were outplayed by all top teams recently and they had just 3 days to rest after a very demanding game in all aspects. Belgium had two more days and showed that this squad is very strong, while they achieved a lot of confidence too.

Difference between both teams is notorious but the preparation has been very different too. We will see a very weak squad by Wales which should be easily beat by the Netherlands here.

IRELAND - UKRAINE

We go again with Ireland.

They have a great chance to win at home in front of their fans after the humiliation of losing against 92st ranked FIFA Armenia in the last round (in spite of that they outplayed them).

But I still believe in them, their recent performances have been impressive, including a great and deserved draw 2:2 against a TOP team like Belgium or the goalless draw against Portugal in the World Cup qualifiers (where they didn't manage to pass the stage).

Coach Kenny has advised people not to expect "wholesale changes" from Saturday. He referenced the goalless draw at home to Portugal as a template to follow in this game, and if so, he may swap a striker for a midfielder. Ireland usually change between 3-4-3 and 3-5-2, so Jason Knight or Alan Browne may be in the running to replace Troy Parrott.

Seamus Coleman will be definitely be replaced as he has a groin problem. Cyrus Christie is the frontrunner to come into the team, though Kenny mentioned Browne, Chiedozie Ogbene and Festy Ebosele as alternate options.

There may be a change at left wing-back too, given Enda Stevens’ relative travails in Yerevan and James McClean’s boundless energy. Gavin Bazunu is injured so Caoimhín Kelleher will remain in goal.

But Ukraine is the main reason for this pick. All of the players have been affected by the war.

But also their defeat against Wales in the World Cup qualifier made a huge impact on them, as they really have big hopes of playing in the WC. Qualification was their beacon of hope, and the manner of the defeat to Wales may take some time to overcome.

A cruel own goal from Yarmolenko, the same player being bizarrely denied a penalty by VAR after Allen hacked his legs, and then Hennessy making a phenomenal save in the last five minutes from Dovbyk's header - and the Ukrainians were out, to the devastation of both players and fans.

It happened just 3 days ago, so it’s impossible to rest enough to play at 100% again.

In the day after the match, only 16 players were in the training, as the rest of the squad had a free day to rest and forget the shock suffered with the defeat against Wales. Coach Petrakov confirmed that in this match he will make huge rotations. The players who were in the defeat against Wales need rest and forget about that match.

All recent evidence suggests they are a significantly better side than Ireland, both on paper and in actuality, but this is a It is a deeply curious event: an end-of-season game in an unloved competition against a heavily-rotated side days after sporting heartbreak, competing amid an unimaginable emotional toll and against a barbarous backdrop.

Ireland has a great chance to win here against an alternative and unmotivated side of Ukraine, who is a very strong team but today will be in the worst circumstances possible: heavily affected by war, the defeat against Wales and tired after playing just 3 days ago.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

威尔士vs荷兰

没人想到威尔士会在三天前击败乌克兰，获得世界杯资格，但他们幸运地做到了(而且服务不足)。他们是一支很有竞争力的球队，但在这次国家联赛的第一轮就被波兰击败了(2:1)，今天他们并没有在最好的情况下达到100%。

在只剩下三天休息的情况下，主教练罗伯特·佩奇不得不在这里做出一些改变。例如，他这样评价他们最好的球员和明星贝尔:“我没有不尊重我们的更衣室，但是我们没有10个其他的贝尔。”贝尔将在周三威尔士国家联赛对阵荷兰的比赛中休息。

另一方面，荷兰队以1:4的比分战胜了国际足联排名第二的比利时。主教练范加尔表示，他将为加的夫的比赛做出改变，范戴克将休假，由德弗里伊取而代之。在我看来，这不是一个大问题，他说:“凡戴克能做的，德弗里杰也能做。”

这场比赛预计会被荷兰队主导，所以我认为德弗里伊不会太挣扎，尤其是对阵没有贝尔和其他首发球员的威尔士队。

威尔士最近被所有顶级球队击败，他们在一场各方面都要求很高的比赛后只有3天的休息时间。比利时队还有两天的时间，他们表现出了强大的阵容，同时也获得了很多信心。

两支球队的差异是众所周知的，但准备工作也非常不同。我们会看到威尔士的阵容非常弱，他们应该会在这里被荷兰轻松击败。

爱尔兰——乌克兰

我们再来看看爱尔兰。

在上一轮输给国际足联排名第92位的亚美尼亚之后，他们有很大的机会在主场球迷面前赢得比赛(尽管他们击败了亚美尼亚)。

但我仍然相信他们，他们最近的表现令人印象深刻，包括2:2逼平比利时这样的顶级球队，以及在世界杯预选赛中零比零逼平葡萄牙(他们没有成功晋级)。

肯尼教练建议人们不要期待周六会有“大规模的改变”。他将主场0 - 0战平葡萄牙作为本场比赛的模板，如果是这样的话，他可能会用一名前锋换一名中场球员。爱尔兰通常会在3-4-3和3-5-2之间变换阵型，所以杰森·奈特或艾伦·布朗可能会取代特洛伊·帕罗特。

谢默斯·科尔曼肯定会被替换，因为他的腹股沟有问题。塞勒斯·克里斯蒂是球队的领跑者，尽管肯尼提到布朗、基耶多西·奥格本尼和菲斯蒂·埃博塞勒是备选人选。

考虑到恩达·史蒂文斯在埃里温的相对阵痛和詹姆斯·麦克莱恩的无限能量，左后卫的位置可能也会发生变化。加文·巴祖努受伤了，所以Caoimhín凯莱赫将继续进球。

但乌克兰是这个选择的主要原因。所有的运动员都受到了战争的影响。

但他们在世界杯预选赛中输给威尔士也对他们产生了巨大的影响，因为他们真的有很大的希望进入世界杯。出线是他们希望的灯塔，而输给威尔士的方式可能需要一段时间来克服。

亚莫连科残忍的乌龙球，同样是这名球员，在阿伦砍断他的腿后，VAR离奇地拒绝了他的点球，然后轩尼西在最后五分钟里接到多夫byk的头球，做出了一个惊人的扑救——乌克兰人出局了，球员和球迷都崩溃了。

这是3天前发生的，所以不可能休息到100%。

在比赛结束后的第二天，只有16名球员在训练，因为剩下的球员有一天可以休息，忘记对威尔士的失利带来的冲击。主帅彼得拉科夫证实，在这场比赛中，他将进行巨大的轮换。在对阵威尔士的比赛中失利的球员们需要休息，忘掉那场比赛。

最近所有的证据都表明，他们是一支比爱尔兰强得多的球队，无论是在纸面上还是在现实中，但这是一场非常令人好奇的比赛:在经历了体育创伤的几天后，在一场不受欢迎的比赛中，对阵一支轮换频繁的球队，在一场难以想象的情感创伤和野蛮的背景下比赛。

爱尔兰有很大的机会在这里战胜另一支缺乏动力的乌克兰队，乌克兰是一支非常强大的球队，但今天将处于可能的最糟糕的情况下:受到战争的严重影响，输给威尔士，以及3天前的比赛后的疲劳。