Georgia vs. Ukraine | UEFA Nations League | Pre Match

As closely contested League B Group 1 nears its conclusion, promotion - and relegation - rivals Georgia and Ukraine will meet in Batumi on Saturday evening.

Over the next few days, both sides could either step up to the UEFA Nations League's top tier or drop down to League C, after they experienced contrasting fortunes last month.

Having taken the back-door Nations League route to Euro 2024 - where they thrillingly made it through to the knockout stage - Georgia returned to the competition with back-to-back wins in September.

Willy Sagnol's side put four past the Czech Republic and then saw off Albania, establishing a three-point lead at the top of Group 1 and putting themselves in pole position to claim an unprecedented place in League A.

However, two losses last month stalled their progress, leaving them trailing behind the Czechs and level with Albania on six points ahead of the final two rounds of fixtures.

Despite fielding a fearsome attack, featuring Euros stars Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, they twice failed to score in October, suffering successive 1-0 defeats - the first coming against Ukraine.

As a result, the Crusaders will be keen to strengthen their hand by beating their Ukrainian counterparts in Batumi, which would also eliminate the visitors from contention.

While neither Georgia nor Albania's fate can be definitively decided until Tuesday, Ukraine will certainly be out of the race for promotion if they lose this weekend.

Indeed, they would then be automatically relegated with one game remaining should Albania also defeat Czech Republic, so claiming a draw will be their minimum aim.

Serhiy Rebrov's side started their latest Nations League campaign slowly, suffering two defeats in September, but they returned to winning ways last month, with a first-half strike from Mykhaylo Mudryk seeing them past Georgia.

Three days later, Artem Dovbyk's penalty salvaged a point against the Czechs, and although Ukraine remain bottom of the table, they have now built some momentum and are just one win behind the leaders.

Completing the turnaround and claiming top spot would ensure automatic promotion, while second place earns a playoff; third will result in a relegation decider against a League C team, while staying fourth would mean definite demotion.