Cyprus vs Russia Predictions

Cyprus came from behind to beat Kazakhstan 2-1 in midweek, keeping their slim hopes of a top-two finish in Group I alive for a little longer, while Russia thrashed Scotland 4-0 and need just a point from Sunday’s clash to confirm their place at Euro 2020.

All of the stats point towards under 2.5 goals being scored in Sunday’s match and we’ve backed Russia to claim a narrow 1-0 win, confirming at least a second-place finish in Group I.

Under 2.5 goals have been produced in the last three meetings between these two nations and Russia have never lost to Cyprus and have won three of the duos’ four previous encounters. The last two results between the pair have seen Russia win 1-0 in 2019 and 2003 and Russia have kept three clean sheets in four matches against Cyprus, so you can see why we’ve backed a 1-0 win to the visitors this weekend.

The form of both countries also backs our prediction of an away win, as Cyprus have lost three of their last six international matches, while Russia have won each of their last six games. Under 2.5 goals were produced in three of Cyrpus’ last six and two of Russia’s last four matches, which is why we’re expecting a tight and tense ninety minutes with fewer than three goals being scored.

The visitors have kept five clean sheets in their last six qualifiers, keeping out the likes of Scotland, Kazakhstan, Cyrpus, and San Marino so will be confident they can stop their hosts from scoring this weekend and secure the point needed to claim their place at Euro 2020.

We’re confident that under 2.5 goals will be produced in Sunday’s clash and have predicted a final scoreline of 1-0 in favour of the Russians. The visitors arrive as the clear form favourites and have looked superb defensively during qualification for Euro 2020. Cyprus have seen their form improve of late and won’t go down without a fight, while they still have an outside chance of finishing second but we expect the hosts to struggle against a strong Russian defence and with just one clean sheet in their last six attempts, we can’t see Cyprus stopping their guests from scoring.