2018 World Cup Odds, Prediction: Russia vs. Saudi Arabia Betting

Russia has a bit of a layup in terms of a group to advance but they’re not exactly a powerhouse themselves. The burden will be on them in this spot to get the tournament off on the right foot.

World Cup 2018: Russia vs. Saudi Arabia Betting Analysis

This is the first time that Russia and Saudi Arabia have met in international soccer. Russia has three losses and four draws in their last seven games. They’ll have home-field advantage in this spot. Although, that could back fire as they really need this win and they will feel some pressure. Saudi Arabia has three wins, four losses and a draw in 2018.

Russia

Russia did not have to qualify for the World Cup as the hosts. Therefore, they have looked disjointed as a team. Their last tournament play came in the 2017 Confederations Cup where they had a win and two losses. They have played eight friendly matches since then, winning 4-2 over South Korea in October 2017, which was their last win. Defense has been a major issue as Russia has not kept a clean sheet since the first game of the Confederations Cup. Sergei Ignashevich is probably their best defender and he has to be called out of international retirement at 38 years old.

Going forward, there have been glimpses of hope. Fyodor Smolov has scored twice in this recent run of friendly matches. Aleksandr Golovin, Den Cheryshev and Alan Dzagoev have all looked good here and there. However, there is not enough consistency among them. Hopefully, expectations are not high in Russia as they have not fared well in the post-Soviet Union era at the World Cup. They have failed to make it out of the group stage in each of their three World Cup trips.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has looked good at times since the beginning of the year – especially at home. They have three wins, a loss and a draw in five home games. However, they have lost all three of their away games and they cannot play the World Cup at home, so this will be a problem. They battled hard in a 2-1 loss in Italy, but Saudi Arabia was awful in a 3-0 home loss against Peru in their last two friendly matches. The decision to leave playmaker Nawaf Al-Abed at home could be a controversial move from head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi. Al-Abed has been injured for much of the year and did not look good against Peru, but he could have come off the bench.

This game is probably Saudi Arabia’s best chance to get a point and they could be in trouble. That being said, they are a tight-knit group who all play in Saudi Arabia, and that familiarity is their strength going forward, even though they do not have world-class talent. Fortunately, they are playing a team in Russia that is terrible at the back and Saudi Arabia will get their chances to find the back of the net in their first World Cup game since 2006.

Russia vs. Saudi Arabia World Cup Prediction:

Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 1