Russia head into this game with the knowledge that a draw would be just enough for them to get promoted from group B into the elite group of this competition and the 2018 World Cup hosts should dig deep to get that here.
When Sweden visited Turkey at the weekend, Russia was hoping that the Scandinavians would be denied victory but that was exactly what they achieve, and that 1-0 win means the 2018 World Cup host would have to wait until the end of this game to confirm their qualification.
Russia has continued to improve since their impressive run at the World Cup and they head into this game having not tasted a defeat in any of their last 3 games in this competition. They are 3 points ahead of Sweden and have a superior goal difference, so mathematically they should qualify when one considers Sweden’s struggle in front of goal.
When these teams first met in Russia, it ended goalless and a low-scoring affair has overshadowed their past meetings as well.
