Euro 2016 Qualifier preview: Russia v Sweden

Group G - Friday, September 4

18.00pm - Otkrytie Arena - Moscow

The clash between Russia and Sweden on Saturday night is perhaps one of the most important clashes of the weekend with Russia’s qualification chances hanging in the balance.

Last chance saloon

The pressure will on the Russian team on Saturday as they look to revive their Euro 2019 qualification chances with a win against Sweden in Moscow. A win for Leonid Slutsky’s men would reduce the gap to just one point while a defeat would leave them seven points adrift of Sweden with little hope of qualification.

The last meeting between the two ended in a 1-1 draw, although Sweden were without their talismanic forward Zlatan Ibrahimović for that clash. With the Paris St-Germain striker back in the fold, Sweden will be hoping that they can move one step closer to qualification at the expense of the Russian team. The teams have met five times since the break-up of the Soviet Union with Russia winning once, Sweden winning twice and the other two games ending in draws.

After two defeats at the hands of Austria, the Russian federation took decisive action and dispensed with the services of former England boss Fabio Capello. They quickly drafted in the current CSKA Moscow Coach on a part-time basis in a bid to rescue their faltering campaign. If he can get them to France next summer, the 44-year-old will probably be handed the role on a permanent basis, along with a bumper pay packet. Russian fans will be boosted by the fact that they once again have a native countryman at the helm.

So far, the Sbornaya have won just once over 90 minutes in this qualifying section with their other “victory” coming by default when their game in Montenegro was abandoned due to crowd trouble. In contrast, Sweden are unbeaten in Group G having won three and drawn three. Both teams have conceded just four goals in the six games they have played.

Team news

For the Swedes, Kim Källström will be missing through suspension while Albin Ekdal and Ibrahimovic are both just a yellow card away from a one-game ban. Coach Erik Hamrén will be keen to keep both players out of the book with the game against group leaders Austria looming.

Betting tips

Russia will start this game as favourites despite their recent issues. They lost their last two home games under Capello, but before that they won seven qualification games in a row on home soil. The bookmakers are taking no chances and have priced the Russians at 23/20 to win this clash.

Sweden have already drawn half of their qualifying games and a stalemate on Saturday would be enough to keep their opponents at arm’s length in the race for qualification. This could be a very tight game with the Russians desperate not to concede and the Swedes happy to sit back and strike on the counter. The draw can be backed at 23/10 with bet365.

Videos of Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring outrageous goals in training have been doing the rounds on social media this week. With five goals in six qualifying games, he is top scorer for the Swedes, and you can back the enigmatic front man to score anytime at 23/10 with 888sport.

Go To bet365

#Ad

04/09/2015     © Frixo 2024