Russia vs Portugal Betting Tips

The Russians have been flying since the appointment of Leonid Slutsky in August. He steered them to 4 wins out 4 to seal qualification for Euro 2016. Sweden, Liechtenstein, Moldova and Montenegro were all confidently dispatched with only 1 goal conceded in the 4 games and 12 scored.

They look much improved on the latter days of the Fabio Capello regime and he’ll be expecting more of the same here. A win over one of the stronger European sides would be a real boost to Russia and they have named quite a strong squad for the game in the unfamiliar surroundings of Stadion Kuban.

This is a highly experimental Portugal squad that heads to Krasnodar though and coach Fernando Santos seems to have used the international break primarily as a means to give most of his senior players an early winter break. There is no Cristiano Ronaldo, João Moutinho, Miguel Veloso or Danny. The only two strikers in the squad both play in the English Championship and other than Nani, who captains the side, there is only 1 international goal amongst their midfield and forward players, several of whom are yet to be capped.

Also included are 18 year olds Gonçalo Guedes and Ruben Neves so Santos has certainly thrown the door open to a number of younger players who may have thought Euro 2016 might have been a tournament too soon.

However this is by no means an easy game to wet your international feet and you have to fancy an in-form Russia team with bundles of international experience to edge it and they are good value for the win at 6/4.

Portugal unquestionably have some talented young players coming through and we might see glimpses of quality from them but over the 90 minutes Russia should have too much.

Consider backing Russia to win 2-1 at 9/1 if you’re looking for a correct score bet.