Ben Lyttleton / 16 November 2009 Free Bet View Market

"Ukraine famously played for penalties against Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup and though coach Alexei Mikhailichenko is marginally more adventurous than his predecssor, it could well be the same on Wednesday."

Perhaps a game between two cautious sides who like to play on the counter-attack was destined to end in a goalless draw. Greece had the better of the first leg but failed to take advantage: in a game lacking much goalmouth action, Fanis Gekas came closest to breaking the deadlock with a 15th-minute effort that was ruled out for offside, while Sotiris Kyrgiakos headed over a corner late on.

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel's caginess is notorious: his Euro 2004 side were masters of the counter-attack, while fielding a 4-5-1 formation in the first leg, at home, was lambasted for being too cautious in the Greek press. When Rehhagel did decide to bring in another striker, Angelos Charisteas, it was at the expense of Gekas, while for the last 15 minutes he threw on debutant Kostas Mitroglu to help him.

Ukraine's greatest goal threat came from two Andrei Shevchenko free-kicks, a miscued Ruslan Rotan shot and an effort from Artem Milevskiy that sailed over the top.

Rehhagel has done well to bond the group that fell out so spectactularly at half-time of the final qualifier against Latvia. Back then, the players had to be separated after feuding while 2-1 down, which they turned into a 5-2 win. But goals will be hard to come by in Ukraine, where the only goal the hosts conceded in qualifying was to Kazakhstan. Both Croatia and England drew blanks there.

It does not bode well for Greece, or indeed the fans, who might have to sit through another turgid encounter. Ukraine famously played for penalties against Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup and though coach Alexei Mikhailichenko is marginally more adventurous than his predecssor Oleg Blokhin, it could well be the same outcome this time around. "We couldn't be more attacking because Greece are so good defensively," is how the Ukraine coach explained his tactics.

The under 2.5 Goals at [1.55] doesn't reflect the cautious nature of both coaches, while the 0-0 Correct Score is [7.4]. A safer bet might be to back the Draw at [3.5].

Recommended bets:

Under-2.5 goals @ [1.55]
0-0 Correct Score @ [7.4]
Draw @ [3.5]