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Russia vs Croatia: will Russians improve under Karpin's management?
Russia lost the most recent qualifying match, but will Croatia create problems for the hosts on September 1? What to expect from this match? The answer is in our prediction.
Command Analysis
Russia
Russian FederationRussia national team got drawn into a relatively easy group in the qualification for the World Cup - Russians will fight for a ticket to the World Cup against Croatia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Slovenia and Malta. In the first round team, managed by Stanislav Cherchesov at that time, without any problems recorded a 3:1 victory over Malta, second match turned out to be more difficult, but Russians still recorded a 2:1 victory over Slovenia.
Nonetheless, they failed to extend that success - Russians were the favourite of an away game against Slovakia, who failed to beat Cyprus and Malta, but Russia failed to confirm that status. After a 1:2 defeat at Trnava they are at the second spot in the standings.
After a failure at Euro 2020 Stanislav Cherchesov was sacked, Valery Karpin became his replacement. New head coach revamped the squad - Artem Dzyuba was left out of the national team for the September matches. But some players have the chance to earn the first cap - a couple of Dinamo youngsters Arsen Zakharyan and Konstantin Tyukavin may get the opportunity.
Rubin players, Yury Dyupin and Ilya Samoshnikov, were also added into the squad. Karpin also brought a couple of players, who worked with him in Rostov, Maxim Osipenko and Sergey Pesjakov.
Croatia
Croatia (Hrvatska)Croatia national team was considered the main favourite of the group before the start of qualifying matches. But Zlatko Dalic's men put up an unconvincing performance in first games, to say the least. In the first round The Chequered Ones failed to score in the match against Slovenia (0:1) and suffered an unexpected defeat. Croats were overwhelming favourite of the home match against Cyprus, but scored only one goal in that game (1:0).
Croatia managed to put up a confident performance only in the match against Malta. Chequered Ones scored three goals and kept a clean sheet. After three rounds Croats are topping the group, but only on tiebreakers, they are tied on points with Russia.
At Euro 2020 Croatia managed to advance into the knock-out stages, but in the round of 16 they were beaten by Spain in extra-time (3:5) after a 3:3 draw in the regular time.
Trends
СтавкаExact score 1:0
Russia recorded two most recent victories with that score
СтавкаRussia to score in the first half
In two most recent head-to-head matches this bet was successful
СтавкаPenalty: yes
In two out of four most recent matches of Russia penalties were given
Tip and bets
Russia national team is approaching the match against Croatia with a new coach and with a different squad. Karpin brought a number of young players, who were waiting for a call-up while Cherchesov was in charge, but only now they will have their chance. Russians will play with a different style now - 20 thousands of fans will support the team at Luzhniki, so Russia should be able to fight for points, especially since Croats are not in a great form now.
Our prediction - Asian handicap (0) on Russia
Russia national team will change the strategy now, that's why Karpin was appointed and that's why new players were called up. But team needs result, there are not too many qualifying matches, any mistake can leave the team without a chance to qualify for the World Cup. That's why teams will probably play caoutiously, so the outcome might be decided by one single goal. In our opinion, Russia will be stronger in a game like this.
Our second bet is on Russia to win by a one goal margin
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