2018 World Cup Betting Predictions: Russia vs. Uruguay Odds
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Jeremy Perry
The title of Group A winner is really all that is on the line since both the first and second seeds will have a tough matchup in the Round of 16. The top two teams from this group will match up against the top two teams from Group B, which at this point in time belong to Spain and Portugal.
2018 World Cup Odds: Russia vs. Uruguay Betting Analysis
Nobody expected the host side Russia to look as dominant as it has in this tournament. However, Russia has the best goal differential in the tournament through two games and is the first host side to score three goals or more in each of its first two games since France in 1998.
Meanwhile, Uruguay has clinched its spot in the Round of 16 with back-to-back wins but didn’t look very dominant in either of those games. This contest will mark one final opportunity to get in to form before a likely date with either Portugal or Spain in the elimination stage.
Russia
Russia is the second host team to win its first two World Cup games under its current format. This tournament marks the first time the Russia has scored three goals or more in back-to-back World Cup games. Denis Cheryshev has been an absolute revelation for Russia with three goals so far in the tournament. He will look to add to that impressive mark as a likely starter for Russia again versus Uruguay. Cheryshev isn’t the only striker on the squad that has delivered so far in this tournament as their eight goals are just four shy of their record at any World Cup event.
Russia will get the opportunity to prove it’s a legitimate contender in this contest with Uruguay. They smoked Saudi Arabia, which was surprising but Saudi Arabia isn’t very good. Then they took care of business easily against a better team in Egypt. Now is their stiffest to date, so we’ll again get a peek at whether they’re legit or whether they merely beat up on bad teams.
Don’t be surprised if they kept their foot on the gas pedal and delivered another quality effort in front of the home fans.
Uruguay
Despite winning its first two games of the tournament, Uruguay hasn’t looked particularly impressive against either Egypt or Saudi Arabia. It took a late goal against the Mo Salah-less Egyptians to squeeze out a victory in their opener and then another fortunate break to beat a Saudi Arabia side that looked completely outclassed on paper. Still, it’s the first time that Uruguay has won its first two games at a World Cup since 1954.
Now they have an opportunity to make a statement by finishing atop their group. The key versus Russia will be for Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani to break through up front. Suarez scored the lone goal for Uruguay against Saudi Arabia, which was his fourth-career game-winning goal at a World Cup. Cavani has had plenty of chances so far in this tournament but has yet to find the back of the net. It won’t be easy against a Russian side that has looked defensively sound. However, it’s important to remember that Russia can clinch top spot in Group A with a draw, which might very well be how this game ends.