Russia host Sweden in Group G of the European Championship qualifications at the Otkrytie Arena in Moscow. The game kicks off at 18:00 CEST on Saturday, September 5, 2015 and looks to be an exciting clash.
Russia are currently in the third place in Group D behind Austria and their opponents for the game Sweden, who are one and two in the group. They have eight points from the six matches whereas the visitors Sweden have 12 points from their six matches played out so far.
The home side have had a rough ride so far in the Euro qualifiers having won just two out of their six games. Their last five have resulted in two defeats, two draws and one win. They have lost both the home and away fixtures to Austria, while only managing draws against Sweden and Moldova. The lone win in the period came against Montenegro which ended 3-0.
The visitors on the other hand have been on a good run with their last five games resulting in three wins and two draws.
The wins have been against Montenegro, Moldova and Liechtenstein while the two draws have been away to Montenegro and Russia. They will now try to avoid defeat in this fixture and close the gap on group leaders Austria who are four points clear at the top.
Russia will look to the likes of Shirokov, Zhirkov, Shatov and Kokorin to lead the line and deliver a good performance in a game they cannot afford to lose to avoid falling off the pace. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is surely the star man to watch out for the visitors along with good support from the likes of Larsson, Källström and Ekdal.
Russia are the marginal favorites to win the game owing to the home fixture but Sweden are always a difficult side to beat as they will try to pick up at least a point away from home.