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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Ukraine have won three of their last four matches. Georgia have lost their opening UEFA Nations League fixture and sacked their head coach because of it. That contrast is the story heading into Monday's meeting between the two sides at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi.
Willy Sagnol was sacked as Georgia head coach after Friday's 0-1 home defeat to Northern Ireland, with the Georgian federation moving on the same weekend. Ramaz Svanadze, previously in charge of Georgia's under-21 side, has been promoted to take his place for this match.
Udinese midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze is expected to come into the starting eleven. Saba Goglichidze and Giorgi Tsitaishvili are both carrying injury concerns going into the game.
Georgia's form before the Northern Ireland defeat had been steady rather than convincing: a 2-2 draw with Israel, a 2-0 win away to Lithuania, a 1-1 draw with Romania and a 2-0 win over Bahrain. The Northern Ireland result is the only loss in that run, but it came with a head coach's job attached.
Ukraine opened their Nations League campaign with a 1-0 win away to Hungary. Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin is set to start again in Tbilisi.
Oleksandr Nazarenko is suspended after being sent off for a second yellow card in stoppage time against Hungary. Vitaliy Mykolenko is out with a leg injury, Artem Dovbyk has withdrawn with a thigh injury, and Ruslan Malinovskyi is also unavailable.
Beyond the Hungary win, Ukraine's recent record reads well: a 2-0 win away to Poland and a 1-0 win over Albania, either side of a 1-3 defeat to Sweden in World Cup qualifying. Three wins in their last four outings, with the goalkeeper who started the Hungary win kept in place, points to a settled team despite the absences in defence and attack.
Ukraine
