Russia vs Saudi Arabia – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 14 June 2018
The 2018 FIFA World Cup will kick off on 14th June at the Luzhniki Stadium with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The Russia v Saudi Arabia tip comes right after the teams found themselves in Group A together with Egypt and Uruguay in the Moscow draw. Russia qualified to the World Cup by the mere fact that they host the entire tournament. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia secured their place after a 1-0 win against Japan.
Russia Probable Lineups and Stats
Russia overcame the hassle of World Cup qualifiers by the mere fact of being the tournament host. Stanislav Cherchesov and his squad will be looking to retain the cup in Russia despite the disappointing Euro 2016 performance. Stanislav’s squad is hardly predictable, considering the new faces he recalled to the squad. This includes youngsters such as CSKA’s Viktor Vasin, Rubin Kazan, and George Dzhikiya. The exclusion of Igor Denisov could be the highlight of this squad considering the two fell out back at Dynamo Moscow. Alan Dzagoev, Fyodor Smolov, and Kokorin will most likely lead Russia’s attack. Special attention to Aleksei and his twin Anton Miranchik as they make their much-anticipated international breakthrough. Many other young and unexpected midfielders and defenders may feature in Stanislav squad, which he prefers to play a 3-5-2 formation. Russia’s last 5 games were against Spain, Argentina, Iran, Korea Republic and Dinamo Moskva in that order. All the games were friendlies and Russia managed to win against Dinamo (3-0) and Korea Republic (4-2), drew against Iran (1-1) and Spain (3-3) as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Argentina. Overall, Russia displayed an admirable performance with minimal disciplinary cases and more attacking front.Saudi Arabia Probable Lineups and Stats
Saudi Arabia will be looking to overturn the notion of being the lowest ranked qualifiers come June. As mentioned, Saudi Arabia made their way to the FIFA World Cup as they came second in the Asian Group B behind Japan. Juan Antonio Pizzi who took over the managerial mantle after the qualifiers from Bauza prefers the 4-3-3 formation. Being the second appearance since the first 1994 World Cup, Saudi Arabia will be looking to front the best squad. Yahya Al Shehri will be the center of Arabia’s team rejuvenation. So to say, he is the most expensive Saudi footballer. Assaf Al Qarni will remain between the posts alongside Moselm Freej. The defense will likely feature Omar Hawsawi, Mohammed Al Khabrani, Al Obaid, Abdullah Al Shammari and Hammam Ajaj. Midfielders Maan Khodary, Naif Hazazi, Mohammed Kanoo, Ahment Al Fiqi, Sultan Ghanam, Saleem Saeed and Hattan Babhir, may also feature. The attacking front may include Ali Al-Nemer, Khalid Al Kabi, Salman Al-Moasher, Mukhtar Fallatah and Saleh Al Jamaan. Out of the 18 World Cup Qualifiers games, Saudi Arabia won 8 home games and 4 away games. They drew 3 games, one being at home and 2 at away grounds. They lost 3 games during the Asia World Cup Qualifiers. They scored 45 goals with an average of 2.5 goals per match and garnered 39 points with 10 clean sheets. Saudi Arabia’s biggest victory was a 10-0 win and a 1-2 loss being their biggest defeat.Russia v Saudi Arabia – Head To Head
Russia has met with Saudi Arabia only once back in an international friendly in 1993 where the match ended in a 4-2 in favor of Saudi Arabia. Russia, currently ranked at the 65th position by FIFA, will be looking to make its 16th appearance, 10 of which have ended up in the finals. Russia first appeared at the FIFA World Cup in 1958. The 2014 World Cup was their last appearance. Russia’s best achievement was their fourth place position in the 1966 World Cup. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia will be making its 12th qualifying campaigns appearance with only four proceeding to the finals. The first FIFA World Cup appearance for Saudi Arabia was the 1994 tournament and 2006 being their last previous presence in the tournament. Their best previous achievement was reaching the Round of 16 in the 1994 World Cup.Expert Tip
Russia and Saudi Arabia’s game will mark the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup come June. This will be a highly anticipated game, with all teams seeking to redeem their status quo in international football scene. Taking into consideration that Russia and Saudi’s squad have no known players in the Premier League or other top leagues, it is difficult to assess the form of each team. Nonetheless, if statistics are to be involved, Saudi Arabia will likely trump over Russia in the starting match. Saudi Arabia worked their way to this tournament. Besides, looking at individual teams previous games could be a determinant in placing your bet for Saudi. As to the number of goals, both teams have a fair striking front, so is the defence. Expect no more than four goals in total.Interesting Facts and Information
- Russia haven’t won in their last 7 games.
- Russia have played 6 home games in a row without winning.
- Saudi Arabia have lost 3 away games in a row.
- Saudi Arabia have lost 3 games in a row.
- Russia wins 1st half in 27% of their matches, Saudi Arabia in 27% of their games.
- Saudi Arabia’s recent performance is better than Russia’s.
- Russia scores 1.33 goals when playing at home and Saudi Arabia scores 0.7 goals when playing away (in average).
- When Russia leads 1-0 at home, they win in 66% of their games.
- When Saudi Arabia leads 0-1 away, they win in 50% of their games.
- When Russia is down 0-1 home, they win 0% of their games.
- When Saudi Arabia is down 1-0 away, they win 0% of their games.
- Russia have conceded a goal in each of their last 10 games.
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