Russia vs Slovakia Match Analysis and Prediction

5 years ago 885

Both Russia and Slovakia will be looking to maintain their winning ways when they lock horns at the Kazan Arena on Friday for an exciting Group J of UEFA World Cup qualifying match with kickoff at 21:45.

Russia have had a solid World Cup qualifying campaign having just lost one of their six matches so far and currently occupy the second spot with 13 points, level with Croatia who have a superior goal difference.

Valeri Karpin’s side had a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign getting eliminated in the group stages following a final-day 4-1 humiliation from Demark. However, Karpin’s men responded well with the September World cup qualifiers fixtures cruising through unbeaten in three matches as they held group leaders Croatia to a 0-0 draw first before claiming a pair of 2-0 victories over Cyprus and Malta.

Russia head into the match in good form as they have only lost one of their last eight matches across all competitions and while they have been good in their attack as they scored eight goals in the run, they have not been too bad defensively either as they managed to keep five clean sheets in the process with three coming in their last three game. Also, they are in a good home form having not lost in their last six home matches across all competitions.

Now Russia will be looking to keep their form and considering that their final group match is against Croatia, the Russians cannot afford to take their foot off the gas.

Meanwhile Slovakia have also had an impressive qualifying campaign having only lost just one of their six matches while they have recorded two wins and three draws. They currently occupy the third spot with nine points, four points behind their Friday opponents who they beat 2-1 in their reverse fixture.

Slovakia also had an unpleasant Euro 2020 campaign leading to an early exit and could not bounce back from their 5-0 thrashing by Spain on the final day as they drew 1-1 with Slovenia in their first September World Cup qualifying fixture before losing 0-1 to Croatia. However, Slovakia managed to bounce back with a 2-0 win against Cyprus and Stefan Tarkovic will be hoping that his side can secure another crucial win as they aim for the top two finishes.

Russia vs Slovakia head to head

Both sides have met in seven meetings with Slovakia having the upper hand with three victories whereas Russia have claimed two victories and there have been two draws.