The question all Egyptian fans want to know is whether striker Mo Salah will play this time. The star forward has not played since injuring his shoulder playing for Liverpool in the Champions League Final against Real Madrid and, although he was declared fit for the Uruguay match, manager Hector Cupar kept him on the bench for the entire game.
Without him Egypt looked blunt in attack. So it is vital to their chances that he able to play, along with midfielder Tarek Hamed, who was forced to leave the field with a back injury during the Uruguay game.
Russia meanwhile go into the match with a sense of optimism following their opening day victory, the highest first match score line in a World Cup since 1934. Written off by their own fans, media and even President Vladimir Putin, before the tournament started, they surprised everyone with the quality of their performance against the Saudis, with substitute Denis Chernyshev coming off the bench to score two fine goals and Alexsandr Golovin pulling the strings in attack.
And, as they proved on Thursday, they have the option of bringing on Artem Dzuba, whose physical presence is enough to unsettle any defence.
The big proviso for the Russians is that they were the lowest ranked team going into the competition, and Thursday’s win was their first of 2018.
In addition, it is hard to judge their true level after the performance in Moscow because the Saudi’s were very poor – so bad that the country’s football federation has promised to punish some of the players when they return home for bringing disgrace on the nation. The Russians have an ageing backline and, if a fully-fit Salah is allowed to run at them freely, he could cause chaos.
Either way it should be a fascinating encounter in front of a capacity crowd in St. Petersburg on Tuesday night.
Russia v Egypt Tips & Predictions:Over 2.5 Goals in the Match